The Fire When it Comes
by KosagiNoLegion
Summary: All Janus wants is to save his sister. But the paths towards that end are twisted and complex and the end is nowhere near in sight. Chapters 20 & 21 posted. COMPLETE
1. Of Futures Past

The Fire When it Comes: Part 1 - Of Futures Past, wherein Magus discovers a long lost secret.

A Chrono-Trigger/Cross fanfic 

By 

Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger and Chrono-Cross (and all associated characters) belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

12000 B.C. 

He stared out at the sea, rage building. Around him icy wind howled, a demonic sound well-fitted to his mood. It was impossible. Simply and utterly and _completely_ impossible. She was lost to him. _Hope is useless. Everything_

A sudden surge in the Black Winds hit him, swirled through his soul and he rose to his feet, lips drawing back from fanged teeth in a sneer. Time was changing again, he could see it in the swiftly moving streams of time that surrounded him. Only to be expected after all the fiddling they'd done. _I wonder where it'll end up? That second moon Wasn't there yesterday. Or at least I don't remember it._ Though it seemed that everyone else on the planet did. He'd asked among the humans during his travels. 

The one thing that didn't seem to have changed was the utter destruction of his homeland; Once majestic floating islands, suspended high above the frozen wastes of the Earthbound, blessed by all the elements to be a paradise on – or at least above – earth. Islands destroyed only months before in this time by Zeal's Queen his mother. His hated and thrice damned mother. If only he could put his hands on her. He shoved the thought aside. They'd done the moral equivalent of just that when they'd battled Zeal aboard the Dark Omen. It wasn't enough. He wanted his fingers around her throat, her face turning blue before him _Oh stop it, Magus, you're wallowing. _

"Hmph. The Dark Omen." Magus spoke the words aloud to distract himself, voice harsh even to his ears. "What happened to the damn thing?" He paced restlessly, white hair whipped around his face by the gale, remembering his months of searching across the globe for his lost sister. They'd destroyed it – and Lavos – in the future of this world. Why would it not be here in this time? And what was up with that second moon anyway? So many incomprehensible changes 

_If only I could read the timestream better._ All his life he'd been able to see, to know, things that others apparently didn't. All his life he'd been able to sense the flow of time and – occasionally – read its pattern. It was a weak talent, hopelessly flawed, as if his vision was as blocked as his magic once had been – before his brief contact with Lavos as a child had ripped the seals from his mind and given him power that no other Zealite had ever had – all elements combined. 

"Damnit, I need a better understanding of time if I'm ever going to find her," Magus muttered to himself. "Hah. Of course. Gaspar. He may have been thrown out of time, but his notes may still exist here." Magus took flight, hurrying towards the area of sea where the islands had fallen. 

*** 

2300 A.D. 

Somewhere in the far future, a man leaned over his computer terminal and considered the data. "It still fails, my brothers," he murmured, although no one was there to hear him. "No matter what we do, disaster looms." He looked at the image forming on his computer screen, a tree, its branches twisted back in on itself. "My fault. My responsibility. But how can we repair the damage I have done?" 

Belthazar shook his head and sighed. He was feeling his many years. So, all right, age was a matter of self-image to one in his circumstances. He had been at this for what seemed forever and with little to no result to his efforts. He stroked his beard, white as it had always been in this world, and glared at the screen. Two major divergences of time, three if one went far enough back along the branches, and none of them resulting in anything but the destruction of humanity. Under ordinary circumstances, Belthazar might have accepted these results as inevitable, but since – no matter how he looked at it – they were the direct consequence of his interference he knew he had to do something. 

"All right. I shifted the branch one way by my arrival and by bringing time travel into play with the Mother Computer. That attracted Lavos and twisted the branch the other way. We find a way to fix that problem and create a new one with yet another super-computer." Belthazar rubbed his temples, a headache beginning. "I'll have to finish playing this one out again, though. I don't think there's a way to fix things at this point. Even if Gaspar _does_ say we've failed. Or will, rather." It was too bad he couldn't just leave the timeline but then he wouldn't be able to make _any_ changes. Only those inside time could affect its growth. 

*** 

12,000 B.C. 

Magus gazed around, ruby eyes scanning for any sign of wreckage. "Under water perhaps," he wondered to himself. Below, the sea rose and fell, waves whipped to a frenzy by the wind. Nothing human could have survived those waters, but Magus had long since stopped considering himself human. Drawing magic – and thus air – together around his too skinny body, he dropped straight down, into the depths. 

Under water, the roar of wind and waves gentled to a muted hum that softened to nothing as Magus dropped deeper and deeper, his only light a small spell cast on the blade of his scythe. He would have been an awe inspiring sight, if any were able to see him; thin, wraith-like, black cloak streaming behind his slow glide, his weapon glimmering in the darkness, limning his bone-white skin, purple tinted white hair and reflecting off ruby eyes. Death himself couldn't have looked much more impressive. _Heh. Not that it really matters. There's no one here but fish _to_ impress._

At long last Magus reached the sea floor. Scattered pieces of rock covered the sand, along with shattered remnants of the city that had once been built atop them. In the light from his scythe there was little sense of color, but Magus knew from memory that those stones would have been painted in bright, cheerful, colors. Gaspar's home island had boasted one of the most beautiful cities the Enlightened of Zeal Kingdom could create. It was a pity – even to dour Magus – that it had been destroyed. 

"Enough reminiscing," Magus muttered to himself. "Time to search." He floated over the remains of the city and scanned, using his magic to sift through the wreckage. 

Hours passed. Then days. Magus couldn't continue searching for long periods of time, exhaustion forced him to leave the depths and rest. One thing surprised him during his search, however. The total lack of bodies. He'd returned to this time period at a point in time only months after the Fall. It made no sense that everyone on the island had escaped, yet there was nothing, not even fish eaten skeletons. Still, the failure of the city's people to die was scarcely a concern. Gaspar's notes – on the other hand – were. 

It was late afternoon two weeks later, that Magus found the box at the center of the wreckage. Large, made of thick metal, it bore an engraved image of a twisted serpent swallowing its tail. Magus lost no time dragging the thing to the surface and to the sea-side cave he'd claimed for himself. Sitting beside the fire, munching on bread bought from the nearest colony of survivors, he examined the box. 

It was a 3 foot cube, black aside from the single gold symbol on what he presumed was its lid. Unfortunately, aside from the symbol, there was no other mark, no sign of a joining point. "Damn. Now what do I do?" Magus muttered. He didn't want to blast the thing apart – doing so would probably destroy the contents – but he wasn't seeing much in the way of a choice. 

Taking off his gloves, Magus ran his fingers along the sides, feeling for edges. The box was curiously warm, considering its long concealment at the bottom of the sea. Some sort of magic then, which gave Magus hope that at least some answers might be found within. 

As his fingers brushed against the symbol on the lid he felt a surge of energy. The thing began to glow, dimly but brightening. Startled, he pulled his hand away. Instantly the glow faded. For a moment Magus frowned at the thing. Then, for lack of any better solution, he reached out again and touched the symbol, tracing its interwoven line. 

As Magus' fingers moved along the tangled knot at the center of the serpent's body, the glow brightened again. Then it flashed brilliantly and there was a faint clicking sound. When his eyes cleared, the box lid had snapped free, revealing its edge some three inches down the side of the box. He smiled grimly and started to lift it when a voice said, "Before you do that, you should consider the consequences." 

Magus started backwards and stared at the source of the voice. A light – swirling red and blue fire – was shining from the top of the lid and as he watched it unfolded into the shape of the twisted serpent. "Of course, there will be consequences no matter _what_ you do." Its tone was harsh and tinny, with a strange familiarity to it. 

The sorcerer took a deep breath. _I am **not** going to let this get to me,_ he thought, annoyed. _I've had enough weirdness in my life that a talking serpent sigil shouldn't bother me._

"But it does, doesn't it?" The serpent seemed to grin as it spoke. "And I _can't_ stop reading your mind because that's not how I know what you're thinking." For something without shoulders, it managed a shrug. "Never mind that now, Magus. You need to make a decision. What you do will affect a lot more than yourself or Schala. The two of you stand at a crux of time and if you make the wrong decision it will have serious consequences for the rest of the world." 

"You seem to think I care," Magus pointed out dryly. 

"You should. Schala needs a place to stand on – if and or when – she's freed." The serpent cocked its head at Magus. "You're the one who doesn't." 

"Eh?" 

"I'm going to tell you a story. You know part of it, but not the part most important to yourself." Gliding to hover in front of Magus' nose, the serpent smiled into his eyes, its own ruby gaze meeting Magus' like a mirror. "Once upon a time there was an empress. Now this empress wasn't a very nice lady. Her people had power and she was the most powerful of them all." 

"My mother." 

"Exactly. Don't interrupt. I don't have a lot of energy to talk." The serpent sighed and continued. "The empress learned of a great and ancient power that sat dormant beneath the surface of her world. A power that was the source of the magical energy her people used. She decided to claim that power for her own. Calling on the assistance of her three most trusted advisors, she planned to steal its power for herself." 

Magus frowned, realizing who those three had to be, but before he could name them, the serpent continued, "Before you say they should have prevented Schala from being involved, let me tell you that doing so would have had even more disastrous effects." 

"More disastrous than Schala being lost?" 

"Infinitely worse." The serpent shook its head. "Time isn't something to play with lightly and Schala's current situation, while dire, is preferable to this entire world being wiped out of existence throughout the timelines." 

"Explain." 

"It's not my job to tell you how time works. You're going to have to figure that – and what happened to Schala – out yourself. The point is that your mother had them find a way to reach Lavos. Now Lavos was dormant at the time, the energy from its body causing certain aspects of human nature to develop. So it couldn't prevent the advisors from taking a chunk of its Self and give it to Zeal." 

"Which was used to power the Mammon machine. Yes, I know that." 

The serpent shook its head. "Not quite. The Mammon machine used Lavos' energy gathered from its surroundings and focused it into the device Melchior made for your sister. No, that chunk of Lavos became something entirely different. No doubt Zeal intended to use it as a tool to control its source when the time came, but I'm afraid she underestimated a lot of factors." 

"What happened to it?" Magus demanded, realizing that whatever, wherever, that chunk was, it might have the power to assist him in his search. 

"Ahhh, that's another thing you'll have to discover for yourself. You're just coming into your real powers, Magus. It won't be long before you understand. That is – if you choose to continue on this path." 

"I haven't heard anything to stop me." 

"And I can't tell you without risking another tangle in time. Let me finish. My power source is waning and I have a bit more story." The serpent _was_ fading, Magus noted, so he nodded grimly. "Right. The three advisors assisted Zeal in her plans and the result was what you know already. However, what you don't know is that your sister became entangled with Lavos. It's because of that that you and your friends were able to defeat it. Her will was at odds with Lavos and she prevented it from winning. It still exists, by the way, because it stands outside time, but it can't affect the flow unless and until something breaks the current stream and forces it back into Lavos' path." 

"I don't understand." 

"You will if you go on." 

Magus growled under his breath. "You still haven't told me why I shouldn't." 

The serpent's light faded yet again. "No, I haven't, Magus. But there's something you should think about. I know what you're thinking for a reason. I'm _not_ reading your mind and I'm not even really here talking to you. I'm just a recording. Think about that, while you decide. It doesn't mean you have to choose this path, but you probably will." 

"Should I?" Magus asked, understanding hitting him. 

The serpent chuckled, a terribly familiar sound. "Consider it a fair warning. If you examine Gaspar's notes you're going to learn things about yourself that you aren't going to like. You're going to become something that you're not going to like. You are going to have to do something you won't like." It smiled, and Magus knew that smile only too well. "You'll be a god, Janus. But not the sort of god most people associate with deity. And you won't be happy until you've fixed everything the way its supposed to be – something I haven't managed yet, so I can't tell you if you'll succeed. Suffice to say that only one thing stands between FATE and Lavos and that one thing is you." The serpent disappeared with a final grin, leaving its audience sitting in silence. 

*** 

2300 A.D. 

Belthazar sighed. The last line of code had been written and the future, with all it entailed, would be created. He had to trust Gaspar's warnings that disaster was going to result – after all, the Sage of Time was the one outside time watching the results and keeping himself and Melchior informed. Still, the Prometheus code, created by the genius of Lucca Ashtear, would mitigate the disaster until he and the others could think of another plan. 

_Brother. Other Self. We may have a problem. There is something happening in the past._ Gaspar's voice touched Belthazar's mind. _Something unexpected._

_How do you mean?_

_That boy. He's doing something to time. Something he shouldn't be able to do._

Belthazar frowned. _Which boy?_ he asked, rising to his feet and pacing the confines of his tiny office. 

_Janus. Zeal's brat. The one we were so worried about. Somehow he's managed to change everything we did to keep him under control._

The old man's frown deepened. Janus was the last person in this world he wanted to entrust with the kind of power he knew the boy had possessed. He and the others had locked those powers within the child, but Magus' experiences with Lavos had eroded the seal. That was why Melchior had created the Masamune in the 600s and aimed it at Magus' destruction. If those young fools hadn't taken pity on Magus he'd have died upon the sword and no longer been a threat to Belthazar's efforts to repair the damage he'd caused. He wondered why Frog had allowed the sorcerer to live. 

_Watch him. We may have to do damage control._ Belthazar shook his head. Drat that child. If only Zeal hadn't come into contact with Lavos so close to his conception. Next try he'd have to do something to prevent that contact, to return things to the way they'd been when he'd first entered this world. 

*** 

12,000 B.C. 

Magus spent the entire night in a sleepless trance, gazing at the opened box. What was he to do? A part of him was frightened, a part he'd thought long since killed off by time and loss. If he understood what was happening correctly, then he was standing at a crossroads and the wrong choice might be disastrous for himself. The serpent, speaking what had to be a future self's words, seemed to be saying he wasn't going to be happy if he took that path, but the problem was that he had no idea what would happen down the other line. 

"For that matter, how do I know that opening the box is really what created that path?" he muttered. "For all I know the serpent is from a future where I _don't_ open the box, sent back to keep me from doing so." He clenched his lank hair in his hands. "Oh for crying out loud! I'm getting a headache just thinking about it." 

Magus forced himself to sit straight and think. "What would Crono do?" he wondered. He'd never felt like he fit in with the rest of the group of time travelers who'd faced and defeated Lavos, but – though he'd never admit it to the boy's face – he'd come to respect the red-head's courage. After all, Crono's self-sacrifice the day his mother had summoned Lavos had prevented Zeal's victory. "Or any of them, for that matter." He half-wished he had the ability to reach out to the others, to ask them for advice. 

He imagined what they would say Ayla: White-hair be brave. Be strong. Do what must be done. Marle: You need to follow your heart, Magus. Schala needs you and you need her. Robo: You..are..intelligent..You..will..find..a..way. Lucca: Magic isn't everything, Magus. You have to use your head, too. Frog: T'is is a worthy deed to seek another's salvation. Thou must act as thou know to be right. Crono: Just do it, Magus. Don't angst over the damn decision for hours on end. 

Magus knew perfectly well he was putting words into the others' mouths. For all he knew they'd have slapped him upside the head for even considering the path hinted at by the serpent. In the end, though, the decision was his and even if Crono wouldn't encourage it, he certainly wouldn't encourage long drawn out melodrama over it either. "Seize the day," the sorcerer murmured to himself. "Seize the moment." He reached out and suited action to word, pulling the lid away to reveal large book with a single sheet of paper atop it. He read it, noting without surprise that the handwriting was his own. 

"One last chance to back off, Magus old boy. You really _aren't_ going to like what you find out because of this thing. But I know you're hooked now, since you wouldn't be reading this if you weren't following the path I took. If it makes you feel any better though, if you don't take this path you'll never find Schala and you'll never find a way to free her. Don't bother asking how I know. You'll find out only too soon. 

"So, go ahead and read. You won't understand much of what's in here yet. It'll take us a while to get to that point. We've got the time though and far too much of it." 

The signature was a single elaborate J. 

To be continued 

* * *

Notes: I'm breaking my rule with this one of not posting incomplete stories, but it's going to sit on the shelf untouched if I don't have incentive to get it finished. Besides, I need some feedback. 


	2. All the Stars Within

The Fire When it Comes: Part 2 – All the Stars within: In which Magus meets an old 'friend'. 

A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

600 A.D. 

"Frog. Thank you for coming so promptly." Melchior smiled at the knight and gestured for him to sit down. "I hope you're well?" 

Frog, called that for the simple reason that he _was_ a frog, smiled broadly and shook a head the seat offered to him. "Chairs art no longer comfortable, but I thank thee for thy kindness," he told the Guru, sitting on the floor instead, long legs folding up beside him so that his knees were up beside his face. Despite the apparent awkwardness of the position, there was a simple dignity to him that couldn't be erased. Not even the frog shaped head, with its bulbous eyes, could take the serenity of purpose that shown from those yellow-green orbs. 

"I fear I have had word of your old friend, Magus," Melchior murmured. "It is not good news." 

"Magus?" A concerned look crossed the knight's face. "He went to a differing time How dost thou know he is in trouble?" 

Melchior winced. "Not in trouble. Causing it." At the knight's startled expression, the Guru continued. "Janus, I mean Magus, was always powerful. Too powerful. As I'm sure you know, that has given him a contempt for his fellow man." 

"Well, he didst not give me this shape out of sweet love or friendship," Frog admitted, gesturing at his face and body. "But thou hast not answered my question." 

With a sigh, Melchior admitted, "My brothers and I have a way of speaking to each other. It is a mental talent. Gaspar, standing at the End of Time as he does, can see what happens within. He has warned us that Magus has learned the spell of Time Travel and is making use of it. As near as we can tell, he seems to be planning on altering the shape of time again." 

"The thrice damned fool!" Frog leaped to his feet. "What could he be thinking of, to attempt such a thing? Doth he not know the risk?" 

"You know Magus. You know how obsessive he is. The boy's only purpose has been vengeance. With that accomplished he must be seeking another goal. Possibly this has something to do with his sister Schala. Never the less, something must be done to stop him." 

Frog put his hand on the hilt of his sword, feeling the twins call out to him with wordless encouragement from within the blade. "The Masamune has the power to stop him. Yet How do I reach him?" 

Melchior smiled. "The Time Spell he's using is the same one we created. We can send you to where, or rather when, he is. When the task is accomplished, we'll bring you back." He put a hand on Frog's shoulder. "Will you do it?" 

*** 

11990 B.C. 

Magus landed in a forest clearing and examined the skies. This wasn't the time he'd meant to visit, but something had drawn him to here. He'd meant to go back to the time when Lavos had arrived, to observe what had happened when Azala had drawn an asteroid down to this world in order to destroy the humans that threatened his people's existence. Once that asteroid had carried Lavos and – likely – it still would. It wasn't possible now to remove Lavos from the timestream entirely, although Crono's and the other's actions in that far future time would prevent it from doing the harm it would have done otherwise. 

He visualized the timestream. He wasn't sure why Gaspar's notes kept referring to it as a branching tree – some difference in their way of thinking no doubt. To him, though, the timestream was a brilliant flow of energy leaving its source in the Event and flowing outwards, spreading itself and rejoining itself in places. Within, eddies and currents shifted around, blown by the Black Winds. Most such timestreams flowed outward only, but this world's twisted back on itself, the flow of its later waters disrupting the flow of those that followed and creating the chaotic mess that had attracted Lavos in the first place. He might not be able to read that flow, but he could see enough of its wild streaming to know what he saw. 

How – exactly – this had happened was something Gaspar's notes hadn't explained. If anything they'd seemed to deliberately ignore the cause of this twisted mess. The how wasn't really important, however. He needed to understand time, understand how it flowed and ebbed. How to control it. How to create the right pattern that would save his sister. He'd hoped to find the answer at the beginning, but it seemed something important was going to happen in this time as well. He'd gone there to find out what. 

Magus frowned. It had been almost frighteningly easy to swim through the stream to reach this era. It was as if some instinct told him exactly what to do, and how. It wasn't the time spell, either. This came from inside him. _My future self – if indeed it was me who'd sent that message – was right. I don't think I like this. _

A strange feeling swept over the mage. Power was approaching but not power he'd known anywhere before. Not Lavos, though time had much to do with it. Something in him yearned towards that power. He wanted it. Wanted to consume it and take it into himself. Instinct caused him to reach out mentally in a process that was almost the opposite of spell casting. _Yes. Fill me. Fill this need I didn't know I had. Become a part of me as I become a part of thee_

There was a sound that filled the entire world, shattered stone and set the waters of the oceans raging. A moment later a brilliant flash of light and darkness flooded the skies. Magus, overloaded by the energy he'd just absorbed, fell to his knees, mouth agape, stunned beyond his ability to comprehend. 

It was at that moment that a familiar voice spoke. "WHAT HAST THOU DONE?" 

*** 

Frog glared at the mage collapsed before him. He'd arrived just in time to see Magus raise his arms and begin to flare with a dark energy not unlike that with which he'd once used to summon Lavos. Then that massive explosion had occurred and the culprit was obvious. "Magus I am most wroth with thee." 

Red eyes raised to stare at the knight. "Frog? What the devil are you doing here?" 

"I have come to stop thee. Mayhap I am too late, but – if nothing else – I wilt not permit thee to profit from thy foolishness." Frog moved at the mage, sword flashing. 

Magus moved, flying backwards just in time to avoid being skewered, not fast enough to entirely avoid the slash across his stomach. "Frog Stop this nonsense." 

"I have seen what thou hast done. There is naught ye can say now to hold me back." Frog moved again, only to be blown backwards by a mighty wind cast from Magus' outstretched hands. 

"Naught? If that be the case, then perhaps _this_ will convince you!" Magus leaped backwards, further out of range, and raised his hands, drawing power together into a single cohesive ball of energy. Frog barely had a moment to act, but he spun in a circle and snapped his arm outwards at the end of the swing, releasing the Masamune to fly towards the mage. At the same time Magus' spell exploded through him, contorting reality and shredding him with a familiar soul-searing agony. 

*** 

Magus barely noted the solid thunk as the Masamune buried itself in his belly. The spell he'd cast had taken most of his power and had – momentarily – numbed him to all other sensation. As his mind cleared, however, a searing pain in his midriff drew his attention downwards. "Oh" he muttered weakly. "Damn" It seemed a ridiculously prosaic curse, but he hadn't the strength for anything more elaborate. 

Falling to his knees, Magus reached for the hilt and tried to tug the weapon out of his body. It wasn't cooperating – which came as no surprise since the Masamune had been created with the sole purpose of destroying him. Then he noticed his blood. Ordinarily the sight of his own blood wouldn't have bothered him, but then ordinarily his blood didn't sparkle with inner fire. Heat and cold swirled through him, non-energy that sought to over take all else, to remake him it its image. He fought back, struggled to retain consciousness, but the effort was proving too much. Slowly he curled in on himself, falling to the thick grass, a thin whimper escaping him. 

Darkness and light. Love and hate. Joy and anger _I love you so much Sometimes I want to shatter you to pieces._ The voice that echoed in his mind wasn't his own. If anything it resembled Schala's, but that wasn't the way she was. Was it? Magus shuddered as his vision contracted, then expanded to take in everything. The scream that followed echoed through the surrounding jungle. 

*** 

Frog woke slowly, painfully, ears ringing to a sound that shredded the soul. "Still," he murmured to himself in the silence that followed. "T'is pain that tells us we're alive." He paused, suddenly realizing something was wrong No, something was right. Something that had been wrong for years now had been fixed. He raised his hand to confirm. Pale fingers. Pale _human_ fingers, raised up into his field of vision. "I am human again?" 

Aching all over, Frog rose to his feet. "He restored me. Why?" Looking around he spotted a figure lying in the grass and he hurried towards it. Magus was curled up in a ball, his cloak covering most of his body, his white hair hiding his face. "Magus?" 

A soft moan escaped Magus' lips. Then he spoke, his voice strange, the sound of crystal about to shatter. "Frog. Glenn. You must act quickly. What you have done could spell disaster, if what is human in me dies at this place and time." 

Reaching out to touch Magus' shoulder, Frog, now Glenn again, felt the tension in the man's body. He moved the cloak aside to find the Masamune buried deep within its victim's belly, blood seeming to blaze with an inner fire seeping from the wound. A strange fire, it glowed with the red-hot heat of the setting sun swirled with flickers of deepest blue. Glenn stared for a long moment, then grasped the hilt and pulled his sword free of Magus' body. 

A moaning sound filled the air, echoing through the jungle. It came from all around, but somehow Glenn knew its source was his victim. The knight took a deep breath and cast a healing spell. Something had changed within the Magus, that much was clear. He'd never bled fire before. Glenn could only hope that change would not prevent the spell from working. 

For a moment there was silence, then the tension that had risen around the area relaxed. Magus' ruby eyes opened and he blinked at Glenn. "I don't suppose you could tell me what that was all about?" he demanded. His voice had returned to its normal harsh, sardonic, tone. 

Glenn gave the man a considering look. "Tell me what it is thou art doing here, in this time so far out of thine own?" 

"What do you think? I'm trying to find Schala," Magus snorted, a faint sneer tugging at his lips. "If I was tossed through time by our experience with Lavos, then it stands to reason she was too." 

Glenn raised an eyebrow. "Then Three questions; What was thy performance just now in service of? What hast happened to change thy blood so and " His eyes narrowed, "what did ye mean when ye said thy death now would spell disaster?" 

Magus' eyes went wide and startled. "What? What are you talking about? _I_ said?" He sat up and swayed. It wasn't possible for him to get much paler, but he was drawn and exhausted. 

"Aye. When I came up to thee, ye said in a voice most strange that thy dying in this place and time wouldst be disastrous." Glenn started to reach out to support the mage by his elbow, but Magus pulled back. "Thou art in no condition to refuse aid, Magus. Come." 

*** 

As Glenn helped the mage to his feet, Magus took several deep breaths. "The last thing I knew after you skewered me was someone – it sounded a bit like Schala – talking to me." He shook his head, confused and feeling the knife-sharp edge of fear. Something _was_ happening to him but he was cursed if he understood it. _I may be cursed, either way,_ he admitted to himself. 

Allowing the knight to move him to a rock where he could prop himself up, Magus glanced up at the sky. The brilliant flash that had seemed to shatter it earlier was gone, leaving an almost unbearable blue behind – the eternal winter that had covered the world was apparently over. "As for what I was doing" He frowned to himself. "I'm not entirely sure what was happening. I felt a surge of energy – I still feel it, though not as intense – and something inside of me wanted it." Still did, though the hunger was not as great, he noted to himself. 

"Hast it occurred to thee that thy actions might cause great harm to our future?" Glenn asked sternly. "Who knows what the power ye called forth wilt do." 

"_I_ called forth?" Magus grimaced. "No. It was coming here no matter what. I was just in the right place and the right time." He blinked at Glenn. "You think _I_ caused that flash?" 

"Didst thou not?" 

Magus gave Glenn a dubious look, reflecting that it was much easier – now that Glenn was human again – to have an idea what the young man was thinking. A frog's face simply wasn't all that expressive. Right now the human Glenn's expression spoke volumes; a mixture of disgust, worry and annoyance. "We've traveled together, fought together for months. Have you _ever_ known me to have the kind of power to create that kind of light show?" 

"Thou didst not," Glenn admitted. "But, have not seen thee for some time. I know not how long hast been for thee, but hast been almost a year for me. I know not what powers ye may have gained in the intervening time." 

Magus spoke with forced patience, "The only new spell I know is the one that allows me to travel through time. There is absolutely no way I could have caused whatever it was to happen." 

"Forgive me, Magus, but Melchior's fears suggested otherwise." At Magus' confused expression, Glenn continued, "T'was he who sent me to this time. His brother Gaspar could see thee here and knew thou wert up to something that might cause trouble for this world." 

A sharp shake of his head was swiftly regretted. "Melchior and Gaspar can communicate? Gaspar can tell Melchior what's happening in the time stream?" His lips compressed. "No doubt they can communicate with Belthazar as well. I think perhaps those three old bastards may have a lot of explaining to do, but never mind that. Did he say what I was doing?" 

"Nay, but when I arrived and saw thee – wast sure thy search had driven thee mad. Thou art adamant that ye had naught to do with that flash?" 

"Damnit Frog I mean Glenn" Magus began, then paused, looking into those distrusting blue eyes. It was true he'd never done much in his life to earn trust or belief from the knight. "Oh for I swear on my sister's life I did nothing just now to cause it." 

Glenn's expression softened. "Ahh." He sat back. "Then it is possible that ye have yet to do whatever it was the sages feared. They were not clear on thy purpose, to tell the truth. Any more than ye have been. Dost thou really expect to find Schala by leaping through era after era?" 

A small shrug reminded Magus that movement, even after being healed, was inadvisable. "I don't know. The problem is I need to understand time better if I'm to find her. That was why I came here." 

"Am not sure exactly how doing so wilt teach thee anything special about time, but I wilt grant that I do not understand the ways of magic – for all Spekio taught it me." Glenn rose to his feet and gazed off towards the eastern skies. "In any case, ye have not yet explained what hast happened to thee to change thy blood so." 

*** 

Glenn didn't have to look at Magus to hear the startled and frightened tone in his answer. "I don't know" he admitted. "I don't know." 

Taking a deep breath of the rich green-scented air, Glenn turned back to look at the mage. Magus was seated with his legs crossed, looking at the dried blood on his tunic. The sparkling light that had shown within it was gone now, but he obviously didn't need to ask what Glenn had meant. 

Taking off a glove, Magus looked at his hand. From his expression, he was seeing something he didn't like within those pallid long fingers. "Glenn? Do you see something under the skin?" 

Kneeling again, Glenn examined the mage's hand. Beneath the pallor was a faint glow. "Yes," he admitted. "Have a feeling that it would be more noticeable in darkness, but yes. There ist something flowing inside ye and I do not think tis just blood." 

"I was afraid you'd say that," Magus admitted, and exhaustion showed in his features. "So this is what I was talking about. Or at least part of it." At Glenn's frown of confusion, he sighed. "In my own time I found Gaspar's notes. Before I could touch them I found a message waiting for me" 

Glenn listened, frown deepening, as Magus told his story. At last, puzzled, concerned and not a little disturbed, he said, "Art sure that this message came from thy future self?" 

For the first time since he'd known the mage, the white haired man's eyes held a faint touch of fear. "Much as I'd like to say 'no, I'm not,' some inner instinct says it was." Magus crossed his arms across his chest, gesture almost casual, but Glenn saw the way his fists had tightened. "Either way, it was right about one thing. I _don't_ like this." 

"Hast any idea what this fate is that thy future self spoke of?" 

Magus was just starting to answer when the sound of an explosion in the far distance interrupted. Both men looked to the south, but the forest hid most of the horizon. A flash of light attracted their attention, however, and Magus rose to his feet. "Come," he said, grasping Glenn's arm and taking flight. 

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Re: Eddings – They're certainly an influence on my writing, as the title of this chapter should reveal. But then, so is Elizabeth Peters, Pterry Pratchett and a host of other writers. grin 

I'm trying to keep within canon. If something seems out of whack, let me know. Just as a note, I may have to ignore the bit about the Masamune at the end of Trigger, as I can't quite work out how to get the thing where it needs to be with my current plot. 

Magus: I have a few suggestions where you could put it.   
Masamune: We have a few for you, too. 


	3. A Moment Lost In Time

The Fire When it Comes: Part 3 – A Moment Lost In Time: In which Magus and Glenn visit a lost world. 

A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

2300 A.D.   
Belthazar sat in his new Epoch, gazing down at the landscape. It seemed the plans to create new islands in the past had succeeded. An archipelago to the south where none had been before. One thing puzzled him, however, an area concealed beneath mist and contained within a ring of mountains. Not even the Epoch could penetrate that fog to find what lay beyond. Interestingly, it was in the very place where Chronopolis would be built, one day in the far future. 

Puzzling over the matter, the Guru of Reason considered his next move. Gaspar's information was a valuable resource, but sometimes it was best to look at things oneself, if only to get a clear idea of what was going on. _All right then. Go backwards until I find the time period that area first appears._ He fiddled with the controls and the Epoch's engine hummed in response before flickering out of time. 

***

11990 B.C.   
"Glenn, have you put on weight?" Magus asked as he flew southward, one hand grasping the knight by the upper arm, the other holding his scythe. 

"Perhaps. Hath had less exercise lately." Glenn seemed amused at his companion's complaint. "The war, after all, hath been over for a year now." 

Magus grinned humorously. "Speak for yourself. It's only been six months since we parted, my time." He shrugged. "Too many flies in that swamp, I take it?" 

"I do not believe flies to be particularly fattening," Glenn replied with dignity. "Twas probably all the sweetcakes the Queen sent me." 

A sour chuckle escaped Magus' lips and he was about to comment when he was forced to drop several hundred feet in order to avoid the huge piece of metal flying towards them. "What the" 

Glenn made a choked sound. "Magus Didst I ever mention I hath little liking for heights?" he asked. 

"Nope." Magus dodged sideways to avoid what looked an awful lot like a dragon's claw dropping towards the sea below. He wasn't sure about what it was, however, because it was no longer attached to a body. "Just don't throw up on me, Glenn. 

"I think I am glad I didst not eat a large lunch," Glenn muttered. "What ist all this, Magus?" 

Magus shook his head, hovering where he was in hopes of finding a landing site. Nothing. "Glenn, be ready to swim because I don't know if I can keep avoiding these things." He ignored the scared look the knight threw towards the sea below and scanned the skies. They seemed to be on the edge of whatever was going on and – considering their lack of solid ground – it was probably for the best. 

Far to the south Magus could see gigantic forms flying towards each other. Some seemed streamlined, glittering with some form of armor. Others had a more organic appearance. "Glenn, can you see what's going on?" 

*** 

Glad of the distraction, Glenn squinted off to the south. Machines and "Dragons? What art dragons doing here?" 

"Is that what they are?" Magus asked, and Glenn noted the ruby eyes were peering almost nearsightedly at the battle. "You've better vision than I have. Well now, this is an intriguing development. There were no dragons in this time before." 

Glenn glanced up at the mage. "Thou doth understate the matter," he commented wryly, half-amused at the casual way Magus took this potential disaster and half-irritated with it. "This didst not occur before. Ist possible – even probable – that this is what Melchior feared would change the world for the worse." He narrowed his eyes at the pale-haired man. "Thou art _sure_ ye had naught to do with this?" 

A soft chuckle escaped Magus' lips. "No, I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything anymore, Glenn. For all I know I _did_ summon these things back to this time." His expression softened from icy sarcasm to worry. "Yet I don't think I did." His frown deepened. "I don't dare interfere, either. I don't know the players yet." 

"Then we shouldst observe and learn." Glenn glanced around. "There's an island there," he pointed off to the west, to a large, perfectly circular mass of land. "I don't recognize it, though." 

"Gaea's naval," Magus said automatically, then frowned. "How'd I know that and you don't?" 

Wishing he could answer the question and knowing he could not, Glenn shook his head. Something was happening to Magus, something overwhelming and frightening. Something that he sensed would have profound effects upon the rest of the world. He only wished he knew whether it was for good or ill. With Magus one simply could not be sure. This was the man who had led the Mystics against humanity in Glenn's time. The man who had summoned Lavos in a misguided attempt to destroy the ancient power. The man whose obsession with vengeance had led him to acts dark and cruel. Not a man he would have wanted to trust with power. 

_Yet at the same time he hath been companion in battle. Not, mayhap, a friend, but I have heard him weep when he thought none could hear. I have heard his rage at Lavos for what it did to this world._ Glenn sighed inwardly and wondered what to do. 

*** 

Landing at the edge of the island, Magus set his companion down and glanced around the jungle behind them. No sign of anything dangerous, but he wouldn't want to bank his life on that idea. "Keep your ears open," he ordered Glenn gruffly, turning to gaze off in the direction of the battle. They were going to need a way to see what was going on without getting close. A scry spell should do it. 

"Teach thy grandmother to suck eggs," Glenn muttered in response to his order, although he did move to a guard position. Magus ignored him, drawing together the magic within him to form a ball of black fire. Strange how it too seemed to be glittering with the light in his blood, the red and blue gleam stark against the shadows of his normal magics. Strange, unnerving and something he was going to have to investigate. Right now, however, he had another problem to deal with. 

"Hmmm," Magus murmured, as the scry spell showed what was happening to their east. An island had appeared in the waters there, a huge metallic building on its surface. "Glenn, doesn't that look like one of those – what were they called – domes in the future?" 

Glenn glanced sideways and nodded before returning his gaze to the jungle. "Aye," he agreed. "It _doth_ appear a building of the future. Yet if it is, how might it have come to this time?" 

Magus scowled. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I think we had better find out." He adjusted the scry spell to show the skies above the island. It appeared the metal things were winning, forcing the battle westward. He kept the spell focused on them until they came to a tower rising out of the waters to the north of Gaea's Navel. 

"Hello, what is that thing?" 

"Hath some resemblance to reptite architecture," Glenn pointed out, sparing the scry spell another glance. "Mayhap these dragons art somehow related?" 

It seemed almost certain to Magus that they had to be and he nodded grimly. "It looks like the battle's over. Let's investigate" He reached out to grasp Glenn's arm again, intending to take flight, but suddenly something twisted through him. Ice and fire. Pain and pleasure. He went down to his knees, gasping for air. 

*** 

Glenn stared at his companion. One moment he'd been grabbing Glenn's arm, then next he was twisted in a knot on the ground, his hands clenched in the dirt, his body shuddering beneath the folds of his cloak. "Magus?" The knight reached out to touch the mage and felt the icy heat that burned around him. It was unbearable, showing him things about himself and about the world that he simply didn't want to know. An explosive beginning and – at the end – something lying in wait, something that was and was not Lavos. Something devouring time itself. 

Rising to his knees, screaming words that Glenn couldn't and didn't want to understand, eyes burning, Magus threw back his head and howled. Raging fire blasted away from him, striking upwards and separating itself into six separate strands of colored light that spiraled across the sky towards the east. White, black, blue, red, yellow and green – the lights burned against the skies with eye-searing brilliance. 

Moments later one of those strands, the green one, swooped back towards them and landed somewhere towards the center of the island. A roar followed, one that Glenn did not want to investigate. It was too huge, too enraged. Glenn knew he was simply not ready to face whatever it was. Especially when it began howling comprehensible words. "THOU HAST NOT WON! THE EARTH THOU HAST DEFILED DEFIES THEE AND WILT HURL THEE AND THY HUMAN CHILDREN FROM HER SURFACE!" 

"Magus? Magus, get us out of here," Glenn shook the mage's shoulder, feeling the burning cold fading beneath his grip. Hopefully that meant his companion would get his head cleared before whatever had just landed on this island found them. 

*** 

The Epoch *zinged* into existence in a time period Belthazar had never seen before. It was near to the time he'd first arrived, somewhat after Zeal's fall and the slow warming of the globe. He'd managed to miss this period due to being thrown forward through time by Lavos' power. 

"Ahhh, excellent. I thought coming back in time would let me find out what was in that anomaly," Belthazar scanned the southern oceans where an island sat, not yet in the middle of the circle of mountains, not yet concealed by impenetrable fog. "Interesting. Could that be Why yes I do believe it must be Chronopolis." Somehow the island had been thrown back in time to this era. He wondered what had happened, since he was relatively certain that hadn't been in the plans. 

Curious, Belthazar guided his ship in that direction. 

*** 

Magus opened his blood red eyes and rose to his feet. The power had faded and he stumbled, feeling weak as a kitten. "Glenn?" 

"Get us out of here," Glenn held the mage up. "There's something else here. Something that does _not_ like humans." He was looking off towards the center of the island worriedly, blue eyes watchful, free hand on his sword. 

Magus took a deep breath. "It can't get us," he reassured the knight as he was granted a brief vision of what lay beyond the jungle. Huge, green, winged, it was what he would have called a dragon. It was also trapped by its own element, its equivalent power holding it in a grasp that locked it close and tight. "But yes it isn't yet time to battle them." 

Glenn raised a blonde brow. "Eh? What dost thou mean, them?" 

The vision in Magus' mind shifted. Six elements. Six dragons. Wind and Earth, Water and Fire, Light and Darkness They'd been pulled into this world by the same power that had drawn that strange machine island. Pulled in and had done battle with it. Then something else – something beyond his comprehension – had called forth their equivalent elements and had bound them. Haltingly, he explained what he saw. 

"What equivalent elements?" Glenn puzzled. 

"The dragons come from a world where only the reptites survived." Magus forced himself to straighten, gazing off in the direction where the green dragon still howled its captured fury. "They represent that world's life-force, just as the elements that contain them represent ours." He shook his head. "But there weren't six powers before. It seems that's changed as well." 

Glenn's blue eyes were direct and worried. "How ist it that ye know all this?" 

A sharp shudder twisted through Magus. "I don't know. I do _not_ know." He took a deep breath. "I have a feeling we're going to find out." 

Another howl of fury shattered the air and Glenn glanced in its direction. "Art thou certain it cannot come after us?" 

"Is anything certain, these days?" Magus asked blandly. "I don't think he can. The best way to be sure, though, would be to leave. And since we have some investigating to do" 

*** 

Once again Glenn held onto Magus for dear life. He really really didn't like this flying, though Magus was obviously enjoying it. There was a dangerous grin on the thin features that Glenn wished would go away. Even as an ally the man was a danger to life and limb. _Not to mention sanity._ Waters rushed beneath them, their dark green surface scattering sunlight. It'd be a beautiful if he were standing on solid ground. Right now it was just _unnerving No, terrifying._

"Eh?" Magus' harsh caw of a voice got Glenn's attention. He looked forward towards a ring of mountains that he would have sworn he'd never seen on this world before. "Those are new." 

"Aye. It seems our past has been changed again," Glenn agreed as Magus zoomed towards the mountains and the great sea at their center. At Magus' frown, he asked, "Ist that not the case?" 

"They're new. It's not like that second moon. They literally just rose out of the water. You had your eyes closed." Magus' grin at Glenn wasn't nice, but the knight was used to the sniping by now. "Didn't feel any normal magic, either." 

"And what of that?" Glenn unwillingly freed one hand and pointed towards the clouds beginning to form above the sea, swirling with brilliant energy. "Ist that magic or not?" 

Magus blinked in the direction Glenn was pointing, red eyes startled. "No, not such as I've ever dealt with." He shrugged, forcing Glenn to tighten his grip on his arm. "I don't think we'll get there before that fog settles in. Might be best to search out an entrance from the ground." 

*** 

The fog had just covered the skies when Belthazar landed the Epoch on Chronopolis Island. So this was the final result of his work. The technology was advanced – more advanced than it had been in that other timeline Lavos had destroyed. _Which it would be, since – this branch– they would have had plenty of time to work on the plans without Lavos to interrupt._ He climbed out of the Epoch and cracked his back, looking around with curiosity. 

The entrance to the building was up a short stone walkway, great glass doors opening to his presence with smooth silence. As Belthazar stepped into the atrium, he gazed around, puzzledly. No one was here? There was a strangeness to the place, a deep, sonorous silence – like the quiet between the gongs of a great bell. It almost buzzed in his ears. 

"Hello?" 

"Is anyone there?" 

"Hello?" 

Slowly the Guru of Reason moved forward into the building. There was no sign of life, but also no reason for that lack. It was as if everyone had deserted their posts before sending the island back in time. _And why ever would they do that? Is this the computer's work? Didn't the Prometheus circuit do its job? Has – or rather, **will** – the Mother Circuit still wipe out humanity?_ It was, he supposed, very possible. Gaspar had said they'd failed, though could not quite tell how or why owing to a knot in the Time tree that obfuscated his view. 

With a sigh, Belthazar headed further into the building. He should be able to access the computers, get answers there. _Good thing I left those backdoors in the programs._

Unnoticed, shadows moved around the Guru, silent, unaware, going about their business. 

*** 

Magus landed in front of a cave leading into the side of the mountains. The fog that covered the sea within had completely obscured it by now. "This looks like the way," he told Glenn, suddenly rather glad of the young man's presence. He had no idea what lay beyond the darkened entrance and while he was a skilled mage and fighter himself, having someone to watch his back was almost comforting. _Not that I'm going to **tell** him that,_ he told himself. _No point in enlarging his ego._ That the admission would do more to lessen his own ego than enlarge Glenn's was entirely beside the point. 

"Aye. Hast light? Seems a deep cavern." Glenn's expression had calmed immensely now that they were down on the ground. Odd, that. He was a brave knight, willing to face down Lavos himself if need be, but a bit of flying turned him into quivering jelly. 

"Easily accomplished," Magus agreed, holding out a hand and casting a simple light spell. Well, it would have been a simple light spell if it hadn't been glowing with that same omnipresent swirl of blue and red flame at its center. He glared at it with annoyance, then shrugged and headed towards the cavern without bothering to check if Glenn was following. 

For several minutes the two walked along the path leading through the cavern in silence. Then Glenn spoke. "It bothers ye, doth it not?" 

Magus turned and snapped angrily, "_How would you like to find yourself being transformed into something you don't understand?_" He paused, ruby eyes meeting Glenn's rueful blue ones with a sudden, startled, sense of empathy. "Uh forget I said that," he muttered, almost embarrassed, as he walked onward. 

"Aye, I wilt." Glenn smiled. "Dost thou want to discuss it?" His footsteps echoed sharply, the metal of his boots ringing on the damp stone. 

After another minute of long silence, Magus shrugged. "There's not much to talk about. I'm changing. If that thing I spoke to _was_ a message from my future self, then it's a change I'm not going to like." He looked grimly ahead, peering through the darkness. _And I'm right. I don't like this at all. _

Glenn's voice was soft. "Ye said thy future self also said you'd be a god. I admit, tis not a thought I find comforting." 

"Heh." Magus managed a wry grin. "Why ever not?" 

"Oh, mayhap the fact that thou art not exactly the kindest of creatures. To give thee the power of a god seems to me to be a dangerous proposition." Glenn's voice was grim, but it softened slightly as he continued, "Dost thou _want_ godhead?" 

"The only thing I want is my sister well and safe," Magus replied and cursed the faint, plaintive, note in his voice. He forced his voice to harden. "I have spent my entire life towards that one goal" 

"Nay. Thy life's goal hast been vengeance, wast it not? Twas only when ye learned of the possibility of time travel that ye had hope to find her." 

Magus was about to answer when he was saved from further consideration by the light shining ahead of him. "The exit," he said, pointing. 

***

Glenn could tell from the faint tone of relief in Magus' voice that he was glad of an interruption. He watched the tall mage hurry towards the break in the stone with a faint frown. _Ye art worried, are ye not,_ he thought to himself. He'd traveled with the man long enough to pick up on some of his body language. The stiffer and angrier Magus got, the more he was trying to ignore some other emotion. Unless he missed his guess, Magus was scared. 

_And would ye not be yourself, wert ye in his place?_ Glenn asked himself. He had a certain sympathy. It was no light thing to have ones Self replaced and altered so radically. If the change coming over the mage was slower than his own transformation to a frog-like man it was also far deeper, more pervasive. Glenn had been essentially human on the inside, despite his physical appearance. Magus Magus was changing from within. Never truly human to begin with, he was becoming something so far outside understanding as to frighten anyone. 

"Well now, _this_ is different," Magus' harsh voice was surprised and confused, causing Glenn to hurry forward to stand beside the mage. What lay beyond the opening in the cave wall was an impossibility? 

The sea was frozen 

To Be Continued...


	4. When You Look Into the Flame

The Fire When it Comes – Part 4: When You Look Into The Flame – In which Magus and Glenn meet some old friends and Balthazar discovers the source of Chronopolis' power.  
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

"INTRUDER ALERT INTRUDER ALERT" 

Belthazar jerked away from the console he was examining with startled speed. The voice echoing through the room at the top of Chronopolis Tower was vaguely feminine, oddly familiar, with a mechanical tone that told him that it had no human source. What had he done to cause this? 

Staring around, he saw a light flashing on the board in front of him. Then an image formed in the monitor. Two men walking through a cavern, one tall, too thin and spare for his height, the other smaller and built with compact strength. The first Belthazar recognized as Janus, or rather Magus, though he'd not seen the child since before Lavos had flung everyone through time. His long purplish white hair and ruby eyes, however, identified him easily. The other Belthazar had never seen before, a good-looking youth with blue eyes, shaggy blonde hair and a calm expression. Melchior had sent Frog back to stop Magus. Could that be Frog's human form as Glenn? 

"ANALYZING. ONE HUMAN. ONE UNIDENTIFIABLE. PREPARING TRANSLATION PROGRAM." As Belthazar watched, the monitor flickered to show several large islands tied together by large roads over the sea. "REMOVING UNAUTHORIZED PERSONELL TO FROZEN TIME." Belthazar blinked, realizing the scene was strangely still and – yes – frozen. What _was_ that place? It was familiar in style, buildings that he'd seen in Guardia in the time when Lavos had, then had not, broken free. 

Bending over the console again, the Guru of Reason returned to the task of breaking into the system. There were questions he needed answered. 

*** 

Magus marched across the waters, gazing around at the cerulean sky with a frown. "What happened to the clouds?" he wondered aloud. 

"Considering that we art walking upon water, thy question seems a touch limited," Glenn murmured. "Ahh, there's land there. Might we find answers? Or mayhap a road? Who knows what might happen if this solidity ceases?" 

Magus would have mocked Glenn for his nervousness. Would have except he wasn't exactly comfortable here either. If anything, this place seemed not only completely _wrong_ to him, but inimical to his nature. That faint pulsing power that he'd sensed before they'd entered was gone, leaving a sense of desolation within him. Something he _needed_ was gone from here and he wanted it back. "It looks like your hopes are fulfilled," he told his companion. "It's not a road like anything I've seen but" 

The thing Magus was gesturing at was a large flat surface that rose above the waters and curved away to the west from the nearby island. The columns that supported it were driven deep into the unmoving waters below. "Looks like there's someone fishing up there, too." He headed for the island and clambered up the rocks to reach the railing, leaning back once to pull Glenn up behind him when the armored man ran into a momentary difficulty. 

"He ist not moving," Glenn murmured. "Ist he dead?" 

Magus shrugged. "Easy enough to find out." He swung his long legs over the balustrade and strode over to the stranger. "Oi. You a corpse?" 

*** 

Glenn shook his head at his companion's behavior and moved to join the mage, only to pause as he noted the rest of their surroundings. Men and women were crowded around a food stand of some sort on a flat area near where the road met the island. Beyond were buildings, none like anything Glenn had seen. The clothing was different too, no woman of his time – or Crono's either – would be caught dead in such skimpy outfits. 

Blushing, Glenn looked away. No one seemed to be moving, not even the birds hovering around the eating area. Something had frozen this place entirely. "Like a moment caught forever in time." 

"A strangely apropos statement," Magus said, coming over to join him. "That man moved briefly when I touched him but" 

"But what?" 

Magus blinked at Glenn and there was a sudden scared look in his eyes. "I think he moved because of my power. I felt something suck out of me." His expression told Glenn that he would have given anything not to be showing his vulnerability right then and that the knight would do well not to comment. 

"I see. Then thy power hast something to do with time, it seems. And this place _has_ no time." Glenn frowned off towards the island at the center of the sea. It was easier to see now that they were up on the road and closer. "That place is not the one we saw in thy scry spell, is it? 

"No," Magus agreed, faint relief at Glenn's lack of response to his fear evident in his voice. "No, it isn't. Which brings us to another question. What happened to that building?" 

"Shalt we continue to this other place and see if there art answers there?" 

*** 

Belthazar scanned the monitor, examining the information being displayed with a frown steadily growing. This was worse than anything he'd thought would happen. That a master computer of such size and strength would result from the research he'd participated in had been inevitable – seemed to be no matter what timeline he ended up in – was no surprise. That the computer would be used to study time had also been expected. The plans for Chronopolis had begun in his laboratory, after all. 

It was the rest of the information that disturbed him. FATE's entire purpose was to control the future. It had been brought to this time in order to build new lands for mind wiped humans to live on and those humans first purpose would be obedience to the dream of the future that FATE herself planned. The lands were being created even as he watched on the screen. Created and populated. _Not good. This is not the way I wanted to see my research used._ But then he'd known. Known it would go wrong. Known from the day that Gaspar's vision of the great Tree had been shared with him. 

The fault was still his, of course. The technology he needed seemed always to be turned to negative ends. He'd had such high hopes after that genius child Lucca had created the Prometheus Circuit. With Lavos gone that circuit ought to have ensured that the Tree would grow in a direction that would prevent whatever supercomputer that followed his studies would never be able to act against humanity. He'd not thought it would find another way to influence matters in its own favor while still controlled by the circuit. 

It had, though. This plan, this diabolical, _cruel_ plan to control humanity, to ensure its development, was that method. A corruption of the original purpose. Protect humanity by controlling it for its own good. He'd have to do something, but what? His backdoors allowed him access to information, but there were whole areas in the data banks that he could only guess at. 

Camera eyes watched the human intruder in their realm and somewhere, in the depths of the basement, something smiled. _Confused, old man? Out of your depth? You have **no** idea._

*** 

They were approaching the center. A huge building of glass and steel rising above the unmoving waters. Here and there they'd passed people, likewise frozen in a single moment. A ball hanging in mid air, the child who'd bounced it reaching out to catch its brightly colored surface. 

There were words on the building, but they were words neither man could read. Glenn because that was a skill not taught to young men training to be soldiers, Magus because the language of his homeland was far older than these strange, sharp edged characters. "Still, it appears to be a market," Glenn noted, peering in through one of the large windows. "There are many small rooms with merchandise displayed." 

"So large? Remarkable." Magus stepped up to the doorway and frowned at it. No way to open it. No handle. Well, that was easy to deal with. He raised his scythe and glanced at Glenn who shrugged. Then he broke the glass. 

There was silence as the glass shards hung in the air. "If naught else proved there wert no time in this place, that would," Glenn commented, pushing at the shards and – when they moved out of his way, stepping through into the large atrium beyond. "This place is of a future time," he said. "If so, it is most wondrous what humans will achieve." 

Magus stepped through. "You never saw Byzantori at its finest one of the most beautiful of the Enlightened's floating islands. Not so much use of metal, perhaps, but" 

Glenn nodded. "True enough. Byzantori wasn't one of the islands we visited when we were in your time but what we _did_ see was wondrous too. Twas a pity to have lost such beauty." 

A sharp knot rose in Magus' throat and he had to turn away and shrug, saying harshly. "They were fools. It was their own fault." 

"Mayhap, but tis no great joy to see a way of life, a whole people, destroyed." Glenn glanced into one of the rooms. "And wilt admit, the clothing of this place's time ist disturbing." 

Turning to look, Magus blinked at the half-clad manikin standing in the window. "Intriguing," he managed. "Shall we look around for something other than underdressed women, fascinating though the subject might be?" He noted the brilliant blush covering Glenn's face with a half-smile and headed towards the huge staircase that led up to the next level. 

*** 

The building was huge. Huge and somewhat creepy with all the people frozen in place. Glenn was glad to note that Magus seemed equally disturbed, though the mage was better at hiding it behind fits of arrogance and dry humor. The latter, at least, distracted both men from their nervousness in this timeless place. 

At last they came to a large room that looked like a theatre. On the stage was a landscape that – oddly enough – resembled Guardia. An old prop sword stood in a hill here, gleaming in the strange lighting above them. "Such a strange" Glenn began, only to jerk to a stop when he heard the sound of a bell ringing somewhere in the distance. "Should we go that way?" 

Magus nodded. "It sounds like an invitation." Without hesitation he stalked towards the sound. Glenn walked behind him, scanning the room for attackers and, when – after climbing several ladders – they entered the long darkened walkway leading to a blank wall, was as ready as he could be for the thing that rose out of the darkness to sweep towards them. 

"WARE!" Glenn shouted, moving to Magus' side and slicing at a reaching tentacle. Magus' hand slashed out, power following the gesture in a swirl of energy. It struck the body of the monster and was absorbed. 

"What the hell?!" Magus gasped, using his scythe to slice another stretched out tentacle away. "It ate my magic." 

Glenn cut away at a third tentacle, glancing in towards its source, a lumpish sort of object that seemed almost familiar despite being half-hidden in the shadows. "We have come acrost others that seemed immune or even aided by magic," he pointed out. 

"No. Not like that. If I hadn't stopped the spell" another pause to slice and Magus moved in closer. "it would have sucked my power away through my magic." A fierce ruby glare towards the body of the monster followed. "Damnation. I just realized what it is. Lavos spawn." 

_Of course. Why didn't I recognize the shape? Possibly because they've never had tentacles like this before._ Glenn side stepped. "Head first, then. The body's useless to attack." He pulled back one entangled wrist and cut the tentacle free. His wrist ached, numb and sore from being entangled in that thing's grip. 

"On my way," Magus agreed, allowing his body to be enwrapped even while he kept his scythe hand free. 

_Only Magus would do something like that,_ Glenn thought to himself. _Reckless. So damned reckless. Doth he hope to die before whatever ist changing him has its way?_ It was a moot question. Magus drove his scythe into the spawn's head even as Glenn managed to work his way over to the other side and do the same with the Masamune. "BLACK MATTER!" Magus shouted. A moment later the world exploded around them. 

*** 

"WARNING: TIME OVERLOAD WITHIN FROZEN TIME. CORRECTING." Belthazar sat up from his studies and blinked at the computer's voice. Glancing at the monitor associated with the security cameras he saw an image of dark hall with a single sphere of swirling blue and red fire at its center. Then that sphere died away to reveal the two men the monitor had shown earlier. They were fighting something large and partially hidden by shadows. As the two struck that thing's head an eye searing darkness rose up. "GRAVITY WAVE INTERFERENCE. GUARDIAN DESTROYED." 

Belthazar stared at the screen for a long moment. The gravity wave had to be one of Magus' spells. What was it the Enlightened had called it – oh yes – Black Matter. So much power in one fragile human-appearing body. That boy was going to have to be stopped. ::_Gaspar, what is happening to the tree in the time that I'm existing?_:: 

Strangely, there was no answer. ::_Gaspar?_:: Belthazar realized to his stunned amazement that his connection with his fellow Guru had been severed. "Not good," he muttered. "Not good at all." 

*** 

Magus sat up and shook his head to clear it. Noting Glenn doing the same, he nodded to the young knight. "Well, I suppose it _has_ been too easy up until now. A guardian, you think?" At Glenn's agreement, he sighed. "Though of _what_? This room appears empty." 

Struggling to his feet, the knight shrugged. "There has to be a reason. The thing wast powerful. Didst thou not have that spell to hand, we wouldst have been mincemeat, I think." 

It was an effort, but Magus managed to stand. "Eh. I'd not have that spell to hand had we not spent so much time in battle." He shot a quick grin Glenn's way, "Nothing like surviving to strengthen one, eh?" 

"Aye," Glenn agreed, though he was still gazing around the darkened hall with a puzzled expression. "Listen." 

Magus did and was unsurprised to hear the faint sound of bells. Somewhere around here. Stronger than it had been before. He moved, slowly, listening intently. "This way." 

The two men followed the sound to a blank wall. _Or is it? Faint glow here. Getting_ Magus flung his arm up to cover his eyes as a flash of brilliance burst into existence. His cry was echoed by Glenn's and when he lowered arm and cloak he found himself staring at a crack in the wall that glowed brilliantly in the darkness. A deep, sonorous *gong* sang forth from beyond its light. 

"I believe this must be the place," Glenn murmured. "Shall we?" 

"Might as well. No point in standing around here waiting for the floor to rot. Especially considering that will never happen as long as time is frozen." Magus stepped forward and through the crack. 

*** 

Glenn gazed around in awe. He'd never seen anyplace quite so beautiful as this. It looked like Leene's square, that place in Crono's time where the great bell named for his queen was hung. No, it _was_ Leene's square, shining like gold in the setting sun. Marble plazas rose up to the top of a small hill and the air was sweet and warm as late spring. The skies above were softly lit with ruby fire. "Gods" he murmured, "What is this?" 

Magus didn't answer immediately and Glenn looked his way. The mage looked strange in the light. Limned and shining. Then his rough voice took the illusion of grandeur away. "A place outside of time. A time outside of place." His tone had a faint shakiness to it, as if there was something about this place affecting him and deeply. "Come. They're waiting for us." 

"They?" Glenn asked as the taller man set off up the stairways towards the highest plaza. "Who do you mean?" He followed behind, fighting a languorous urge to move slowly, to settle somewhere and lay quiet for a while. This place was beautiful, but it was dangerous. It fulfilled too many dreams, just by its quiet comfort. 

"I'm not sure," Magus admitted and Glenn noticed something else odd about him. The Magus, ordinarily hard and bitter humored, seemed subdued. He was feeling the effects of this place as well, apparently. 

A few minutes later the two men topped the final step leading to the highest plaza. Here a bell tower stood, the bell chiming deep and sweet atop it. Then Glenn saw them. Three figures. Three very familiar figures. "CRONO! MARLE! LUCCA!" 

Magus put his hand out and stopped Glenn from running forward. "Not quite. I think they're memories." 

"Memories? But they haven't even been born yet." 

"Birth does not matter" Marle's sweet voice said. 

"Time doesn't matter," Lucca added. 

Crono – or the seeming of Crono spoke softly. "The only thing that matters in this world is life..." 

*** 

Belthazar had finally managed to break the final code. Now he'd be able to make his way to the basement and find out what it was that waited there. It seemed FATE needed another reprogramming and he was going to have to be the one to do it. 

Walking to the elevator and selecting the basement level, he waited patiently for a minute or so while the platform lowered. When it opened he found himself standing in a huge room, a single bridge leading across to a doorway. Two large robots moved back and forth but as he approached, they allowed him to pass through. _Glad I caught that security code and reset it,_ Belthazar thought as he went to the doorway and opened it. 

Inside was a vast computer set up. At its center, however, was a huge sphere of crystal or glass. Staring at it, the Guru of Reason moved slowly forward. What was that glowing at its center? Something like fire, but it didn't seem to move. He drew closer, climbed up the ladder to what was obviously the access port. _My word_

It hung, unsupported, at the exact center of the sphere. A swirling mass of ruby fire entangled together in one huge sphere. Belthazar, looking at it, could feel the radiating power. _This must be the source of FATE's power, then._ It looked strangely familiar, a great fire caught forever in a moment of glory "_OH MY GOD! LAVOS!_" 

To Be Continued 

Author's Notes: We're starting to get into the Cross Tie-In. Any differences in explanations from the original game will be due to my different take on the story.


	5. Strangers in a New Land

The Fire When it Comes – Strangers in a New Land: In which our heroes have a parting of ways.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

Magus gazed at the three before him. They both were and were not his old enemies, and later, companions. For one thing they appeared younger, even more childlike than they were when he'd known them. Oh, they'd been mere children when they'd first met, but those children had given off a sense of seasoned warriorship. These They glowed with the inner purity only the young were said to possess. Not that Magus had ever known that purity in his childhood, but then his ability to see fate's dealings had ensured an early loss of innocence. 

"Crono? What dost thou mean?" 

The red head grinned at Glenn, who had gone on one knee in order to talk to him more equally. "Everyone lives and dies. Death is inevitable, so it's the living, and what you do with it, that counts." He looked at the young man. "What is thy dream, knight? What would ye have most in thy world?" 

"Here is the power to grant dreams," Marle said, standing beside Crono. 

"The power of the Heart's Desire," Lucca continued, moving to Crono's other side. 

Magus frowned. "What are you three yammering on about?" To his annoyance, they ignored him, still gazing at the blonde in front of them. 

Glenn shook his head. "I think that, even if I have a Heart's Desire as ye put it, tis not a thing to be demanded or simply granted. Wouldst rather work towards that goal than to have it placed – unearned – in my hands." 

Magus made an impatient sound. Glenn _would_ take that attitude. Yet, strangely enough, he found himself agreeing with the young knight. He distrusted any power that claimed it could grant one's every desire without effort. 

"Wise man," Crono said quietly. "For many will seek my gifts and come to regret it. Then so it will be. Though FATE herself stands against you, yet shall you seek your goal." He turned blue eyes onto Magus. "And what of you?" 

*** 

Glenn felt a surge of fear. Would Magus show sense this time or allow his desire for Schala's freedom to overwhelm him? 

"Stuff it. Why don't you show your real face?" Magus said grimly. "It's nice of you to use our friends to keep us from feeling overwhelmed, but I want to know who and what you are." 

Crono, Marle and Lucca laughed softly, then, to the soft sound of the bell, their bodies merged into one burning sphere of red flame. Glenn cried out, for within that fire he could see things. Some horrible, some wonderful, all terrifying. Images flashed through his mind; a great explosion and a stream of energy flowing out from it. Lives being born. Lives ending, some desperately short, others all too long. Beginning and end, end and beginning, going on through eternity. Currents and eddies carrying those lives on and around, and somewhere at its end and beginning – this thing, consuming and being consumed, both source and destination solidified into eternal stillness. He covered his face. 

"What have you done to him?" Magus' voice demanded angrily and Glenn wondered how Magus could bear the visions he had to be seeing. 

"He only sees the truth," the voice that spoke sounded like dozens of voices all speaking at once, some young, some old, some male and some female. "I do not show my true form unless asked, for that very reason. Truth is the hardest thing to bear of all." 

Glenn managed to look up. "I'm all right, Magus. Tis not that bad." And, strangely enough, it wasn't. Just those first moments had overwhelmed him. Now he could look into that vision of time without flinching. "Not wonderful and wilt be glad to be out of here, but I wilt manage." 

Magus frowned disbelievingly at Glenn and suddenly the knight realized his companion was seeing nothing of what he saw. Either that or "Magus, do you see anything of a time stream?" 

"I _always_ see the timestream. Have since I was a child – though I've learned to ignore it. I don't see anything different right now. Maybe a bit more intense, but" 

It occurred to Glenn that this, if anything, was probably why Janus had grown up to be Magus. How anyone bear this vision for long and not be twisted by it was beyond him. He turned to the sphere that waited patiently before Leene's bell. "Who art thou? What art thou?" 

"Who am I? I believe I will be called the Frozen Flame one day in the not too distant future," the sphere chuckled. "As for what Janus called Magus will find that out only too soon. You still have a long road to travel, though, and it is not for me to tell you which way to go." It seemed to regard Magus quietly for a moment. "Suffice to say that I know your Heart's Desire without your having to ask, but even now I do not know for certain what path you must take to find it. Even for me it is not yet time. But it will be. That much I believe." The Flame went silent a moment, then, in a soft voice, added, "That much I _must_ believe, else all that I have endured is for nothing."

The sphere began to glow more brightly. "Now. It is time for you to leave me. Someone is waiting for you, though he doesn't know it yet. Best to get him out before the system comes on-line fully. It's busy with other things right now and when it realizes he's here" 

Before either man could speak or act, the sphere exploded around them. 

*** 

Belthazar's voice echoed through the large room, breaking the silence. A second later the alarms went off, "ALERT! ALERT! ENEMY OF FATE ACCESSING FROZEN FLAME! ALERT, ALL UNITS SEARCH AND DESTROY!" 

Panic set in and the Guru of Reason jumped backwards, climbing down rapidly from the ladder. _Stupid stupid stupid! Overconfident and _stupid_!_ He should have known the main computer would react to his presence. His backdoors weren't enough to protect him if it realized he was there. _How to get out?_

The doors were opening and he remembered those two huge robots that guarded it. Under other circumstances he'd have had Gaspar pull him out of time to safety, but he couldn't reach the other. Without magical skills or strength of arms he was probably doomed. 

Then there was a flash of light from the sphere. A flash of light and the sound of something striking the floor. When he opened his eyes, two men were rising to their feet and staring around with expressions of shock. "Magus? Frog er Glenn?" Belthazar gasped. 

*** 

Magus faced at the old man. "You. I want to have words with you." Then Glenn's hand touched his arm. "What?" 

"Not now. Seems we hath a more pressing engagement." 

Following Glenn's pointing finger, Magus blinked at the two large machines moving their way, lumbering with patient sloth. "Oh, very well. Later then." He drew a sigil in the air and flung the power at the nearest machine, even as Glenn raced at the other and set to slashing its wiring. "Darkness that draws all within it, CRUSH!" 

Within seconds the two men had destroyed the machines. Compared to the Lavos spawn of earlier it was an easy fight and Magus gave Glenn a quick grin of approval as the young man rejoined him. Before he could say anything, though, a voice spoke, a woman's voice, harsh and metallic and yet - familiar. "ALERT! UNITS APTX & THX DESTROYED. ALERT! MULTIPLE INTRUDERS IN SANCTUM. SEARCH AND DESTROY!" 

"What say ye to the idea of leaving? Now?" Glenn asked. 

Magus' grin broadened. "Took the words right out of my mouth." He turned and grabbed Belthazar by the arm. "Come along, old man. We have much to discuss – once we've escaped." 

*** 

Glenn ran beside Magus, breath coming short and fast. He was beginning to tire. Machine after machine had attacked them. So many that the Masamune would have been caked with blood had they been organic opponents. His own blood was seeping from myriad wounds, for he'd only time for small healing spells as they ran. Magus was in much the same condition, _well, except that _his_ blood ist glowing, that is._ The mage's seeping wounds were a kaleidoscope of shifting red and blue light. 

As for Belthazar, the old man was keeping up well for someone as old as he had to be. Strange that. Glenn found himself agreeing with Magus that the old man owed them a lot of answers. They'd have to wait until the three of them were out and safe, though. At least they were nearing the end of the gauntlet. He could see the doorway to the docks ahead. 

Coughing and wheezing, Belthazar stumbled and fell. "I I'm sorry I can't run" 

Seeing Magus' expression, Glenn grabbed the man up and pulled one arm over his neck. "Tis no time to waste on recrimination. Hurry!" 

The three men dashed for the exit, only to come to a halt as another of those huge machines appeared in front of them. "One last dance with death," Magus growled, magic forming around his hands. Glenn let Belthazar slide to the floor to rest behind them and moved forward. This one might need his magics as well and he gathered a spell together in his mind. 

_Strange it's echoing with Magus'_ he thought, even as the power drew together. Slashes of electrical energy were striking him, making it difficult to concentrate. Still, he realized that – for the first time since he'd traveled with the mage – their powers were merging into a single spell. Never before had Magus been able to match with him and the power forming between them was both terrifying and exhilarating. 

"Darkness that surrounds and contains all, Nothingness from which All springs, cast forth time in a raging flood and carry my enemy away! TEMPUS FUGIT!" Magus' voice rang sharp and clear, each word a rushing cascade that flooded the room with power. As Frog cast his most powerful water spell through him, the mage's darkness twisted out in a fiery stream that struck the machine dead on. 

At first nothing seemed to happen. Then, with a faint creaking sound, the machine collapsed in on itself, rust forming on its body, corrosion becoming holes in metallic 'flesh'. At last only red dust remained on the floor. 

*** 

Belthazar hit buttons on the Epoch rapidly, glancing sideways at the two men cramped into the single seat beside him. "Hold tight," he gasped, noting that Chronopolis was beginning to buzz with a swarm of flying machines that would reach them in a matter of moments. Their only escape was to fly forwards into time and pray. 

The Epoch rose into the air, started to move forward, speeding up. "Show them what you're made of," Belthazar whispered as he worked the controls. They were circling the globe, accelerating. Would it be fast enough, he wondered. The things following them might not be able to move through time, but their engines were certainly of better quality than the Epoch's – which had never been intended for battle. He clenched his fist, looking back. 

_Which is always a mistake,_ he noted to himself as he spotted the air ship moving at them at high speed. Laser bolts were firing in their direction. It was only a matter of time before the thing's targeting system locked on. "I don't suppose you could manage that spell again?" 

Magus' ruby eyes looked at him with a startling expression. Not the arrogant superiority Belthazar would have expected from him. Not even anger. Just sheer, stunned, exhaustion. "Not a chance, old man," he said in a terribly weak voice. "That one nearly killed me" 

There was a aura of energy rising around them. They were reaching speed. Just another moment and the Epoch would be able to break free of the time barrier and carry them up along the branches of the Tree to a safer time. 

*KAAZIIIING* 

The sound of the Epoch hitting the barrier was accompanied by a sudden shudder as something struck her in the rear. Then they were spinning, end on end, out of time and into the nothingness beyond. _I can only hope we land safely,_ Belthazar thought, clinging to his seat tightly. 

*** 

END OF TIME:   
Outside of time, Gaspar blinked. He'd lost contact with a part of his other Self briefly but now was picking up the other man's panic. Examining the Tree, he saw flashes of energy around one Era, oddly enough, the one where Melchior'd sent Frog. Then the light he knew from experience was the Epoch, spun out of control outside of Time. A few millennia forward and it crashed back into the Tree. 

::_Belthazar? What is happening? Where are you?_:: 

There was no answer, but the link that was between them told Gaspar the other man was unconscious, no longer blocked from contact. "I hope he's all right," he muttered to himself. 

*** 

1006 A.D. 

Magus groaned. His head _ached_. No. His entire body ached. He opened his eyes and regretted it only because the sunlight burning down on him was far too bright. He moved his arm. 

"Hold still." The voice was male, harsh and commanding – the voice of a man accustomed to being obeyed. 

Raising his eyes to look towards the speaker, Magus found himself looking – upside down – at a hefty man in a military uniform. It was a uniform he didn't recognize, but that was meaningless, considering he wasn't even sure what time they were in. "Who" 

"I am the Acacia Dragoon Deva Viper," the man replied, holding a sword out towards Magus. "And these lands are under _my_ protection, stranger. Now, name yourself and how you got here." 

Magus struggled to sit up. He was unarmed, he noted. Nearby, buried nose-first into the dirt, was the Epoch and beside it a man wearing the same uniform as Viper was giving first aid to a bruised and battered Belthazar. _Where's Glenn?_ he wondered, worriedly. "There were three of us," he said questioningly. 

"Only two of you have been found. If there is another, he or she may be lost. Now answer my question." 

Magus felt a sharp ache start inside him. Glenn had been his enemy. His compatriot. Now he realized the man had been one of his only friends. Forcing back anguish, he raised his head. "I am Janus," he told the Dragoon. "Of no particular place or time. As for how we got here, that's a question better asked of that old man there." 

*** 

"Why did you go back to that name?" Belthazar asked softly as his companion paced around the tent, long legs taking him back and forth so quickly that the old man was getting dizzy. He noted, though, that somehow Janus' wounds had healed over during their wild flight. Although his own cuts and bruises were very painfully evident there wasn't even a mark on the mage. Nor any of that strange glowing substance he'd been oozing for blood. _Which may be a good thing, considering we don't know anything about this place and time. _

"Magus has no purpose anymore. Janus does. His sister. His friend." Magus – now Janus – turned to Belthazar. "Not to mention the many questions that I expect you to answer." He returned to pacing. "But not now. Not until we convince these Dragoons that we are no enemy." His pale brows drew together in a fierce expression. 

Belthazar shook his head. "Magus, Janus, whatever you want to call yourself. I have no reason to tell you anything" 

Before he could say more the tent flap opened. "Come. General Serpent wants t'talk with ya." The speaker was unfamiliar, a burly fellow with dark hair and dark brown skin. He carried a large hammer and – from his expression – meant business with it. 

Janus shrugged. "Whatever," he said with a sigh. "Got nowhere else to be at the moment." 

*** 

General Serpent resembled Viper quite a bit, Janus noticed. No doubt a father or uncle. Not that it mattered. The main point was convincing him and his four Deva Generals that he and Belthazar meant no harm to these lands. Despite natural arrogance, the mage managed a bow that suggested some humility. "General, thank you for meeting with us." 

"Hmmm. My nephew tells me that your ship crashed in the middle of our building site. Would you care to explain how that happened?" 

Janus considered his answer carefully. "We were fleeing from an enemy and our ship was magicked from that place to this. To be strictly honest, we're not even sure where we are." 

"_Magicked?_ What kind of magic is strong enough to do a thing like that?" Serpent's frown was puzzled, but not unduly upset. "Something Porre is working on in order to subjugate us?" 

Now it was Janus' turn to be puzzled. Porre was no military power. "Porre? What year is this, General?" _Perhaps we're far enough in the future that Porre has become more aggressive?_

"1006, of course. Did your flight knock your memories loose?" The puzzled frown deepened. "1006 on the continent of Zenan." 

*** 

1001 A.D.   
Glenn moaned and sat up on a beach. What a headache he had. Climbing to his feet he looked around. A rocky path led up the way to a cave and further into what appeared to be an island. Strange – semi-human – figures were staring at him from the path, their expressions dark and not a little frightened. 

Managing a bow that didn't cause his head to fall off, the young knight spoke quietly, "Peace unto ye, goodfolk. I wish thee no harm. Might I ask the name of this place where I have landed?" 

Slowly one, a fish-headed woman, came forward. "You're on Marbule," she said. "And not welcome here, human. Please leave." 

Glenn blinked. "Marbule? I fear the name ist new to me." He glanced around and frowned. No sign of the Epoch. No sign of Belthazar or – more importantly – Magus. Who knew what sort of trouble his friend was getting himself into. "More, whilst I would not outstay my welcome for all the world, I fear I hath no way of leaving." 

"Dere are human fishermen who traverse these vaters. They may be able to help du," another woman, this one fish-tailed and human bodied and very very attractive, said in a kinder tone. "I vill find one..." 

A man with a wolf's head came running up. "The Elder wants to see him. You, human. Come with me!" 

*** 

1006 A.D.   
Belthazar considered his words carefully. "I am known as a prophet of time," he said. "The ship in which we arrived is a ship capable of traveling through time." Noting Janus' raised brow, he shrugged. "These people may be able to help us." _Or me, at least. You I'd prefer they imprison for eternity._

"It's your choice," Janus shrugged. "Tell them what you want." He crossed his arms and settled into a stance that looked like he was asleep. 

Serpent held his hand out graciously for Belthazar to continue, which he did. Oh, not everything, just the basic fact of time travel's existence and a little bit of the reasons for it. He was careful to make the General understand about Lavos – about the Time Devourer's nature and evil. "And," he said, taking a deep breath and stepping as far away as possible from his companion, "That man is an agent of Lavos. No, not just an agent, but Lavos' physical representation in this world. I can't begin to tell you the danger that he represents!" 

*** 

As the four Devas turned and took up battle stance, their eyes on him, Janus pulled himself to his full height. Turning blazing ruby eyes on his old teacher, he stared at Belthazar for a long moment. _The frightening thing is, he's telling the truth as he sees it,_ Janus thought. 

"Is this true?" Serpent demanded, his hand going for his weapon. 

Janus shrugged. "If it is, General, then it's the first _I've_ heard of it." He narrowed his eyes. "For that matter, if it is, then you haven't a hope of stopping me." He glanced around the tent. Escape would pose no problem and – for the moment – seemed the best course. He needed to find Glenn. Needed Glenn's steadying presence to help him think. Belthazar wasn't going anywhere. _And I'll make sure of it_

"If it is true, then we _must_ stop you," Serpent replied, sword fully drawn now. 

Janus ignored the General for a moment. "Belthazar Old man I still have questions that you _will_ answer. But for now... here you are and here you remain. No more traveling for you until I'm ready to permit it." He twisted a knot in time around the old man, not even bothering to try and figure out how he was doing it. "No communication with Gaspar or Melchior, either. You're going to have to do whatever damage you're going to do on your own." He bowed to the General. "General, I thank you for your hospitality, however, I'm afraid I must run." 

With those words he sent a bolt of energy through the roof of the tent and soared upwards. 

To Be Continued. 

* * *

Author's Notes:   
I think I know what to do with the Masamune now, but I don't think it'll match with that one cut scene in the game. In fact, I'm not sure that Guardia will fall in exactly the way mentioned in Trigger, in any case. Oh, and Glenn of Trigger won't be Glenn of Cross. I have much better plans for him. 


	6. The Rising Storm

The Fire When it Comes – Chapter 6: The Rising Storm: In which Janus seeks the truth in a dangerous place and Belthazar learns that some things are unavoidable.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

1001 A.D.:  
Glenn bowed to the slender older man the Marbuleans identified as their Elder. "Sir, I must apologize for my uninvited presence on thy island." 

"Humans do not ordinarily come to these lands," the Elder commented quietly, eyes on the knight considering. "And those that do are not usually so courteous. Still, I fear your courtesies prove nothing of your intent. Your people have used courtesy against us before" 

"I understand, Elder," Glenn replied. "It is not my wish to cause thee trouble. If there is a way for me to leave thee in peace I wilt gladly do it." _Well, I'd much prefer ye to leave me living_ he added to himself. 

A strange expression crossed the Elder's face. "You say that as if you do understand," he said questioningly. "How can a human like you possibly understand the persecutions we demi-humans experience." 

Glenn considered how to explain. "It may be that thou wilt not believe me, but – for a time – I was given a form more like thy people's than mine own. The spell was lifted from me but recently, yet during those days few humans would accept me in their company." 

Frown deepening, the Elder demanded, "Who would have had such power? There is no magic great enough to permit a shapechange such as you describe. There were mages in the past, perhaps, but" 

Nodding slightly, Glenn smiled ruefully. "To be honest, am not even sure what year ist this." 

Surprise in eyes and voice, the Elder replied, "1001, by the way you humans reckon it." 

*** 

1006 A.D.:  
"What will he do?" 

Serpent's question was a good one. Belthazar just wished he knew the answer. If only Glenn were there. Though, considering the way the two men seemed to have come to an understanding, it might be that he wouldn't have been of use. The knight had seemed so utterly incorruptible. How could he have allowed Magus – Belthazar refused to use the name the boy had chosen to go back to in his thoughts – how could he allow Magus to convince him to join him just for the sake of the lifting of his spell? _Though I don't know that's the case it almost has to be. Why else would he work with someone so evil?_

"I have no idea," Belthazar admitted, realizing the General was waiting, patiently, for his reply. "He's chancy. Chaotic. Do your people recall a legendary evil sorcerer who joined with the Mystics against humanity? A sorcerer who tried to summon the demon Lavos?" 

Serpent frowned. "I believe there are stories of such to the North. He never bothered us, though. Magus, wasn't that the name?" 

"He may be calling himself Janus, now, but that man was Magus and I'm almost certain he means no good for humanity." Belthazar shook his head, "No, I am _absolutely_ certain of it." Not for the first or last time he cursed his foolishness regarding the boy. He should have known what Janus would turn into. A binding spell was not nearly enough to prevent something Magus from coming into his true power. _If only we'd dared cast him out of time altogether. _

The General paced. "We should find a way to stop him, then. Yet we have other difficulties. Porre is destined to battle us in the future. We must defend ourselves." 

Belthazar shook his head. "That's another thing that puzzles me. How is it that Porre, which has never been a military power, seeks dominance?" 

A sharp laugh escaped the General's lips. "Are we speaking of the same people? Porre has been expanding its borders for over three centuries now, in full defiance of destiny. Already they have chased the demi-humans out of their lands and forced them to the far south on Marbule. It is only a matter of time before they decide to expand in other directions." He smiled wryly. "Though it may be they will concentrate first on Guardia – a power in its own right since Crono and Marle took the throne last year." 

Thinking of those two young people reminded Belthazar of the third in their little group. Lucca. If anyone could help him with the problem, she could. "Is there a way you could get me to Guardia without Porre knowing?" 

*** 

Janus hovered high above the continent, eyeing the landscape with a sour expression. Yet more changes in time and space. More changes that Belthazar could have explained. He growled a curse under his breath. The old man had been his teacher once. He'd trusted the man as a child. _Is it his knowledge of what I did in 600 that makes him so suspicious now?_ Truth to tell, he probably didn't deserve trust based on his earlier behavior, but it annoyed him not to even be given a chance. 

More importantly, what was the old man talking about when he said Janus was an agent of Lavos? If there was anything in this world that was certain, it was Janus' hatred for that ancient power. _No. Not just an agent. He said I was Lavos' physical representation_ An idea was beginning to occur to him. An idea that he did not like to think about. It answered so much though. The ease with which he moved through time His new-found power over its flow. His knowledge of a time stream that no other human had. His _hunger_ for time. "Mother what did you do?" he wondered and knew what the answer had to be. What _he_ had to be. 

Confirmation through Belthazar was currently impossible, but he knew something else that might be able to answer his questions. Something that was almost certainly still hidden in that fog covered sea. Something called the Frozen Flame. 

He looked in the direction of the ring of mountains. From his current height it was a pillow of whiteness surrounded by a circle of dark stone. Getting in would be difficult and he suspected impossible if he tried to walk in the way he and Glenn had before. No, if he was to reach the Flame he'd have to overwhelm Chronopolis' defenses. _I seem to recall Lucca saying something about electrical overload once. A storm should do it._ He began gathering his power. 

*** 

1001 A.D.:   
Glenn sat in the prow of the small fishing boat, small frown crossing his face. These islands, the main continent of Zenan None of these had been there in the time in which he'd grown up. Yet some conflicting memory said that they _had_. It was confusing, more signs of the mess all the time travel they'd committed battling Lavos had created. "Where is Guldove?" he asked the big woman piloting the boat. 

"Cha don't know? Guldove is to the north of Sky Dragon Isle." Micha grinned as she spoke, her broad, friendly features full of good humor. "Cha not from around here?" 

"Ye have no idea, lady," Glenn returned, smiling. "Truth to tell, neither do I." He gave a long considering look at the land they were passing. That circular island had to be where he and Magus had landed on in that other time. The one called Gaea's navel. He wondered if the dragon that had been bound there was still there. "Sky Dragon Isle. Doth a dragon live there?" 

"Cha got that right. The Shamaness goes ta speak with him sometimes, ta learn his wisdom. It's too bad tha dragon race died out. They coulda made this world a better place. None of this silly relying on fate ta guide us." 

"Fate?" Glenn frowned. "Guide? I thought fate was just what happened." 

"Silly boy. Doncha know the pyramids are all over, guiding our lives, showing us tha direction we must go?" Micha grimaced. "I don't like it myself, but it's a bad thing ta defy fate. Seen those who do. Ain't a pretty sight." 

Glenn went silent and wondered. 

*** 

1006 A.D.:   
The storm raged furiously, forcing fishing boats back to shore. Janus, busily watching for a break in the fog above Chronopolis didn't even notice one boat being forced to shelter in the entryway to the sea. Instead he aimed bolt after bolt of power downwards. He'd be exhausted by the time this was over, but determination kept him going. 

Below, two men struggled to keep their craft upright. Between them lay a child, wounded by the claws of a panther and close to death. They struggled, desperately, to keep afloat, to work their way through the water filled tunnels leading into the sea. Until the storm died, they'd had to shelter here, but the flow of water was such that they were being carried through to the mountain's other side. 

Suddenly their boat sped through the opening and slowed to a halt in a sea of such beauty that – for a moment – both Wazuki and Miguel were stunned. Then they spotted the building in the distance and started paddling for it. "This place is supposed to be holy. If we can't get Serge to help in Marbule then maybe we'll find help here," Wazuki gasped. 

Miguel wasn't as sure. The stories suggested there was a great deal of peril in the Sea of Eden. Still, his daughter's best friend deserved a chance, damnit and he wasn't willing to desert his friend when this might be the boy's only hope. He frowned, noting something plummeting down towards that central island. It was difficult to make out, but it looked like a man. _No point in worrying about it now, though. If it was, we'll find his corpse. No human could survive such a fall. I just wonder where he fell _from. 

*** 

Janus made his way through silent halls, past unmoving guard machines. Going back down into the basement, he used his own power to force the elevator into obedience. The door into the room containing the Frozen Flame was open, as if waiting for him. When the voice spoke at his entrance he knew it was. 

"I will require your assistance before anything else, Janus." 

Janus frowned up at the shining light at the center of the glass sphere. Climbing up, he moved so that he could look into the Flame more closely. "My assistance? What sort of assistance are we talking about?" 

"Lend me your power. What needs to be done will take the both of us." A smile seemed to lurk within the Flame's brilliance. "Your humanity is needed here as a focus. Come now, you want to help your sister, don't you?" 

"Schala? What? Where?" 

"Assist me. You'll learn." 

Hesitation only lasted a minute. If anything could help Schala he'd dance with the devil himself. "Here. Take it." 

Pain hit. His very Self was being sucked out, used as a conduit between another Place and this one. Then an figure flickered into being, standing on the metal floor below. Garbed in a simple white shift, hair its natural blonde again. So very beautiful, her face was just as he remembered. "Schala?" he whimpered, and blue eyes raised in puzzlement to look at him. Then they turned away with a bemused expression and she practically drifted to a computer nearby. "SCHALA!" 

"She won't answer," the Flame's voice was as strained as Janus felt. "She's only partially here. Enough to do what must be done. Not enough to really see what's around her, to see us." There was sorrow in the Flame's tone, an aching sadness that echoed Janus'. That, more than anything else, confirmed another growing suspicion. 

"What is she doing?" 

"Cloning herself. You'll need to take the baby when you leave. Go back a couple of years – 1004 should work – leave her with Lucca." A faint edge of humor touched the Flame's voice. "Not to mention another child, though you won't have to take him through time, just to Arne." 

"Cloning? Other child?" 

"Just a moment." The Flame seemed to be turning its attention elsewhere. "Bring that wounded child to me," it said, voice echoing as if it were calling someone, though Janus was at a loss to know whom. 

Something was happening at the console where Schala was. Her body was fading, disappearing. "Oh Schala" Janus could have wept all the worse for the fact that it wasn't he who spoke then, but the Flame. The loss in its tone was terrible to hear. 

"What are you? Who are you?" He knew he didn't need to ask, that the answer was plain to see. 

A soft chuckle. "You'll have to get your answers from Belthazar – as if you really need them. You'll be seeing him when you go to see how Kid is doing in a couple of years. Lucca will help you. Though I wouldn't mention the fact you brought Kid to her until _after_ you meet Belthazar" It paused. "Ahh, here they are." 

*** 

Miguel stared around in awe at the room. It was huge, with metal walls and metal boxes everywhere. The dim red light of the hallway that had led to this room was brightened by another light from inside the great glass sphere that dominated it. It was that light that spoke. "Bring him to me." 

Wazuki started forward, only to pause in confusion as he spotted the tall, hard faced, skinny man at the top of the ladder. The man merely moved back and gestured silently, however, and the fisherman hurriedly climbed up to stand on the ledge beside an opening into the sphere. "What what do I do?" 

"Hold out his hand. Touch it to me." 

Miguel felt a sudden nervousness. "Wait. Who are you? What will we owe you for this?" 

"You'll owe _me_ nothing," the light replied. "The Mistress of this place, on the other hand, will not be pleased. You may pay with your lives or your sanity. I cannot tell." 

"Can't or won't?" Miguel began to demand, but Wazuki was already moving forward. "Wazuki wait!" 

"No! I don't care if I die. Serge is too young to die this way!" Before Miguel could say another word the boy's father thrust the tiny, pale, hand forward into the light. 

__

_Pain. Pain slicing through his body. A great cat, crouched over him. Screaming for his father and hearing Wazuki's yells in the background as darkness enveloped him. He was in agony, curled in on himself, the poison in the feral cat's claws seeping into his blood. Then – mercifully – unconsciousness. "Daddy will save me. Daddy can do anything."_

The boy opened his eyes to find his father staring down into his face. "Oh Serge" Then there was a flurry of sound and light and a roar of fury. Then a new pain, stopped only when pale hands reached down and took him in strong arms. A voice spoke, strange voice. Not a nice voice. Scary, like it held all the pain and suffering in the world and knew every dark thought in every human heart. "Take him and hurry, Janus. Him and the baby in the crèche below." 

"His father The other man" That voice wasn't much better. It hurt to hear it. Hurt the more because there was something familiar to it. 

"_She_ has them now. I can't prevent that. Just get the Arbiter out of here to safety. Remember. Arne for the boy, Lucca two years ago for the girl. HURRY!" 

Strong thin hands swung him up and over a dark cloaked shoulder. "I don't like children," their owner said. "Don't bother me and don't cry for your daddy." Then darkness as unconsciousness claimed him once more. 

*** 

1001 A.D.:   
Glenn knelt before the older woman, Direa, Shrine Maiden to the Dragon Gods. "I sense," she said softly, "That you have traveled a long road and that thy road ahead is longer still." 

The knight nodded slowly. "Aye, tis likely true. To be honest, though, I fear my next action is uncertain. Those I companioned are lost to me, or I to them, and I know not what I should be doing." 

Direa considered this. "It is said that those who art uncertain of future plans would do well to consult the Oracle of Fate," she gestured at the emerald pyramid that floated nearby. "However, if ye would accept another suggestion instead?" 

Glenn bowed slightly. "Micha told me something of these Oracles and I confess I find the concept of being forced to follow some unknown power's will to be – unpleasant. Please, if there is another alternative" 

"Go to Sky Dragon Isle. Seek the great one who lives there and ask his advice." 

Remembering the Green Dragon's words in that long ago time, Glenn felt a prick of doubt. "Methinks that dragons have little love for humans, though. With all due respect for thy position, Shamaness, surely it is not wise to take the advice of one who holds such feelings towards our race?" 

A small smile crossed Direa's face. "The Sky Dragon's greatest concern is the safety of this world," she murmured. "Ye need have no fears that he wilt steer thee in the wrong direction." 

Glenn still wasn't sure, but for lack of another solution, he bowed again and agreed. 

*** 

1008 A.D.:   
Belthazar gazed around the landscape with a pleased expression. Guardia was flourishing under Crono's rule. It was obvious from the neat houses and prosperous looking people. He'd had a high opinion of that young man and he was glad to have been proved right on that boy's account. He'd have to stop in and see him and Marle before he left, but first "Excuse me, sir," he said, stopping one of the passersby. "Could you direct me to Lucca's house?" 

"Hah. If you listen for the explosions you're likely to find it," the man grinned. "But – just in case she's taken a day off from inventing – go over that bridge to the island and you'll find the orphanage there." 

Puzzled, Belthazar repeated, "Orphanage?" 

"You didn't know? She started an orphanage a few years ago. After she found that girl, Kid." The man's grin broadened. "She's quite a woman, that Lucca. Inventions known from this continent all the way down to Zenan and capable of taking care of a bunch of homeless children at the same time." 

"Well, from what I remember of Lucca, she was definitely up to the job," Belthazar noted. "Thank you for your directions, though. I'll be on my way." He continued on his way, glad to have finally made it up this way. One thing after another down in Termina – Serpent's death and a small demi-human war – had forced him to wait two years before he could get away from Zenan continent. The one thing he had, though, was time. Far too much of it, to be honest. 

The house where Lucca lived wasn't huge, but it looked like it'd been added onto recently. The addition was off to one side and was, no doubt, the dormitory. He walked to the front door, only to nearly be mowed over by several small children dashing out, all naked as the day they were born. One was strangely familiar, a little blonde girl with brilliant blue eyes. Belthazar's eyes narrowed, but before he could get his memory to cooperate, a small, compact, woman was hurrying out the door. "Toan! Eike! Reiken! Kid! You come back here right now and take your baths! Honestly, running around like this in front of company!" 

Belthazar smiled at Lucca. The genius of Guardia had matured somewhat in the eight years since her adventures in time, but she was still young, trim and handsome. "Hello Lucca," he said. "I don't suppose you remember me?" 

"Belthazar! He said you'd be coming soon. Please, come on in, I'll have to chase those rotten children down, but let me get you something to drink first. You two can talk while I find them." 

Before Belthazar could ask who "he" was, Lucca had grasped his hand and drawn him into the machine filled living room, then back into the kitchen where a thin, pale-haired figure was sitting, a cup of hot tea in front of him, his scythe leaning against the wall behind him. He wore clothing more like those of modern times, long sleeved shirt and simple pants stuffed into scuffed dark boots, but it was him. _Oh my god I'm dead _

Ruby eyes raised to meet the Guru's and Magus smiled dryly. "Welcome, old man. I've been waiting for you to show up." 

To Be Continued 

Author's Notes: I think by now it's obvious where I'm going with Janus. Half the fun will be the path getting him there and the other half figuring out how to connect everything with Chrono Cross. Methinks, as well, that Belthazar may be regretting his big mouth right now. 

Oh, and I probably play entirely too many video games. Who recognizes what names among Kid's 'brothers' and 'sisters'? 

-- Kosagi 


	7. Time's Petty Pace

The Fire When it Comes – Chapter 7: Time's Petty Pace – In which there is entirely too much conversation and many truths are revealed.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

Janus watched Belthazar's face go white as his hair with a faintly cruel amusement. It wasn't so much that he wanted to hurt the old man that much anymore, but there was still a touch of irritation in him over Belthazar's betrayal. _Though, admittedly, it's been two years from his perspective and only a few days from mine. If anything, _I'm_ the one who should be holding onto a grudge._ "Sit down. Lucca's made a us a lovely pot of tea." 

Slowly, Belthazar stepped forward and sat. His eyes were glancing side to side rapidly as if he were considering his routes of escape. Janus ignored this, however, in favor of looking up at Lucca. "Will you need help drowning the brats?" 

Lucca laughed. "No, I've been doing this for years now. I'm used to chasing them down at bath time. Besides, they only run because it's part of the game. Once they're in the bath the big fight will be getting them back out." 

A quick, real, smile crossed Janus' face as he recalled similar situations in his ever so long ago childhood. "Then Belthazar and I will sit and talk until you come back. I have some things to tell you, but they can wait a little while." 

Once Lucca had left, Janus turned and raised a brow at the old man. "To quote a certain old friend of mine. I am most _wroth_ with you, Belthazar. You've been keeping secrets. Too many secrets. I think it's time you answered some questions." 

"Not to you," Belthazar replied, defiantly, eliciting a sigh from the mage. "You have no idea the damage you can do" 

Janus managed a sour smile. "In the last few days I've learned only too well what damage I can do." he narrowed his eyes at the old man. "I may not _know_ what I am, old man, but I can guess." He pulled off a glove, raising a hand whose inner fire glowed faintly in the light of the sun. The bloodglow was brightening, the changeover closing in on him. He wasn't sure how it would happen, but it was nearly time. "How did it happen, old man? Did I ever have a father or was I just born of that chunk of Lavos you stole?" 

Belthazar stared at Janus' hand for a frightened moment. Then his shoulders sagged. "I really don't know. Zeal your mother never told us. I only know that a good portion of the Lavos stone disappeared around the time you were conceived. That you were born far too soon for a normal human child. Whether your father was Dalton and your body just absorbed Lavos' power completely, or if her absorbing that power created you in Zeal's body I just don't know." He paused, looked at Janus tiredly. "I can tell you this much, though. There was never a Janus until Lavos came into the picture. Just Schala." 

Janus nodded. "That was about what I'd expected," he said softly. 

Belthazar looked miserable. "When we realized Lavos was there we hoped to find a way to prevent it from awakening. We were going to study the stone, learn its nature and hoped to find a way to use it against Lavos. We never thought your mother would" 

"Be such a damnfool as to try and control Lavos? You should have. You really, really should have. You sealed my power didn't you? Tried to control me. That's why I had no magic until I was thrown forward through time. Until the time current partially broke the seal. And now that I've learned the time travel spell and used it, that seal is almost gone. One more time jump will – most likely – break it entirely." 

"Something like that, yes." Belthazar sighed. "Listen to me, boy. You're about the greatest danger to this world next to Lavos. We can't afford yet another disaster to avert. There are too many as it is. The Mother Computer, Lavos FATE." He gave Janus a pleading look. "Release that geas on me. Let me call my brother Gaspar. Maybe if you left time entirely you'd present less of a threat" 

"No." Janus said flatly. 

Belthazar's hand clenched and Janus noted that he was carefully hiding the other under the table. "Leave the knife alone, old man. You can't kill me. By now the Masamune is the only thing that's going to be able to end my life and that will happen in its own good time." 

Startled, Belthazar stared at Janus, who'd gone very still, gazing into the flow of time with an ache forming deep inside him. The black wind howled in his mind, a lonely echo to his own howling soul. _Now why did I say that Oh. Yes, I suppose that _is_ where I'm headed._ It wasn't a comforting thought. He really didn't want to die. Didn't want his killer to be one of the only friends he had. But it would be necessary for the next step. _Whatever that is._ "All of this is beside the point. I want you to tell me exactly everything began. How this world came to be in such a foul mess." 

"I" 

"But wait until Lucca's back. I want her input on this. Her logic is beyond reproach and – at the moment – I don't quite know what's to be done." 

*** 

Belthazar spoke slowly – hesitantly – aware of Lucca's solemn gaze and Magus' colder glare. When he was done, it was Lucca who spoke first. "So you aren't even from this universe, and Gaspar and Melchior are your clones. That would explain why none of you three have never seemed to age. This universe's time is different enough from your original one that it can't affect your body – and since those two essentially _are_ you" 

"Exactly," Belthazar admitted, not looking at Magus at all. "I came here in the very first Epoch. Came here and crashed. In my efforts to escape, the technology I used resulted in the first Mother Computer. She tried to use time travel to ensure her creation and to draw all the branches of the tree towards that creation. That drew Lavos here and well you've seen some of the resulting chaos. I don't know what to do, to be honest. We needed the Mother Computer to create the time warps for you and your companions to ensure Lavos was destroyed, but doing so resulted in FATE – another Mother Computer, this one worse because – despite the Prometheus Code that _you_ created – it has still found a way to harm humanity." 

"In, of course, the interests of preserving it," Magus' voice was soft, strangely subdued. "I only wonder that she has done so little up 'til now, with so much power at her command" The Magus of the past would never have been so quiet about his confession. He'd have been furious. Oh, there was a light of anger in those ruby eyes, but also a touch of comprehension. "So the only way out of this trap was to find a way to keep her from using the Frozen Flame properly. That explains that boy" 

"Boy?" Lucca asked. 

"An Arnean child named Serge, about three or four years old – no, nearer seven now. He's touched the Flame and – thus – become the only person able to command it. FATE is no longer able to control matters in the same way she had." Magus sighed. "I'm sure she'll be doing something to rectify the problem, but we have a little breathing space." 

A frown crossed Lucca's face. "I've heard of something called the Frozen Flame down in the El Nido area. An artifact capable of granting wishes?" 

"It's a chunk of Lavos!" Belthazar interrupted, disturbed and agitated, remembering the moment when he'd realized the true nature of the thing at the center of FATE's web. "Not a toy to play wishing games with." 

"Well now, for once we agree on something. That won't stop folk from trying, though," Magus said with a sour smile. "Never mind that, Belthazar. The main point is, for a little while at least, the boy's life will block FATE's plans in this world. For that time, however short it might be, we have a chance to work out a way to save my sister _and_ thwart that metallic bitch." 

"Schala I've been meaning to talk to you about that You keep distracting me," Lucca gave Janus a reproving look. "Schala's here" 

*** 

1001 A.D. 

Glenn forced himself to walk forward to face the White Dragon that sat curled on a large rock at the top of the hill on Sky Dragon Island. It had been interesting and not entirely surprising to realize the island was located exactly where the Reptite tower had appeared all those centuries ago. The tower must have sunk into the sea after it had lost its battle. 

"So, human. We meet again." 

The voice was huge. Obviously softened for the sake of fragile human ears, but huge none the less. "I greet thee, Lord of the Sky," Glenn murmured, going down onto one knee and staring upwards into the face of something both awe-inspiring and terrifying. Even as he spoke, he wondered what the dragon meant, and asked, "Meet again? I fear thou hast mistaken me for another." 

"There ist no mistake, human. Though it may be that thou hast yet to meet me in that long ago day. So be it. Tell me, little mortal, what it is ye seek?" 

"I am told ye might have answers to my questions for me." Wording the matter carefully so as to avoid giving too much information, Glenn began telling the Sky Dragon his story. Of Magus, of his original intent to stop him and his renewed friendship with the mage when it seemed he'd been misinformed of the man's intentions. Of being lost in time from his friend and of Chronopolis and his fears of its nature and plans. 

"And ye would block FATE? Defy her? This would be a show well worth watching." The Sky Dragon gave the young human a long, considering look. "Ye speak of this friend of thine gaining powers unexpectedly. What is this friend's name?" 

"He was known as Magus in my time," Glenn answered, though a part of him wondered if this answer was a wise thing. "But in 12,000 B.C. his birth name was Janus." 

"Hmmm." The Sky Dragon went silent. At last he said, "The names art unfamiliar. Mayhap ye couldst describe the man?" 

Somehow drawn, with a part of his Self protesting all the way, Glenn did so. "Right now his blood is glowing, or it was the last I saw him. I fear me he is changing and fear too that it might not be a change for the good." 

"Aye." Claws tapped the ground consideringly. "So, that is who he is. And if his blood glows as ye describe, it explains what. Very well. I believe I can help thee. There is a place. A place in the mountains of Zenan continent. The Dragon Shrine. At this Shrine it is possible to reach through time and space to contact one you seek. Go there. Even if he is out of this time, you will be able to reach him and call him to you." 

Glenn started to bow, only to halt as the dragon spoke again. "And when he comes to thee, young human, thou shalt pay for my aid By slaying him." 

*** 

1008 A.D. 

"SCHALA?" Belthazar rose to his feet, startled as a deer suddenly set upon by the hounds. "But she" He shook his head. "She's bound to Lavos. She can't possibly break free" 

"She can if she has help," Magus said softly. "Between the Frozen Flame and myself, we gave her a moment to do something towards freeing herself completely." He looked at Lucca and there was a rueful look in his eyes that Belthazar had never seen there before. "But Kid isn't – quite – Schala. She's her clone, a physical copy of my sister. Schala herself could not break free entirely of Lavos' control." 

Lucca's expression as she looked from Belthazar to Magus was disappointed. Then it darkened. "You know more about her than you should. Was it you who abandoned her" 

"Not abandon," Belthazar would have sworn Magus sounded plaintive. "Never abandon. I knew you were there. I left her where you'd find her." 

"Gee, thanks. You didn't even bother asking me if I _wanted_ to take care of a baby." 

_It's strange_, Belthazar thought, _He's one of the most powerful, no, by now he _is_ the most powerful mage on this world and he's letting himself be browbeaten by a girl less than a quarter his power and half his height._ "But you seem to enjoy it," the sage protested despite himself. 

"Enjoying it and wanting it are two different things," Lucca growled, turning on Belthazar momentarily. "I would have much preferred to have my _own_ child with someone I cared about." She was looking at Magus with a strange expression. "Or help from the one who brought her to me" 

A sound outside the door caused her to gasp and grab the handle, just in time to stop a small blonde girl from running away. "KID!" 

"You don't want me. You don't want us!" 

"Don't be silly," Lucca held the girl in her arms. "I'm angry that you were dumped on me without so much as a by your leave, but I've _never_ been sorry for it." 

Kid struggled in Lucca's arms, but was slowly relaxing. "Really?" she asked in a plaintive tone that hit Belthazar in the base of his gut. This was one of the lives injured by his inability to repair the damage he'd caused. One of the many countless lives. Then he glanced at Magus and saw the young man's eyes watching the girl with an aching sorrow. _His life too. I never ever thought of that. Between our tying his power down and Lavos throwing him thru time to the mystics, it's a wonder he's managed to retain any human feeling. But he loves his sister and he loves this child_

"Really, Kid. I swear as Lucca the Great that I'll _never_ be sorry I have you or any of the others. No matter how mad that skinny scarecrow over there makes me." 

Kid looked over at Magus. "Don't you eat?" she asked. "You really _are_ skinny." 

*** 

A guffaw escaped Janus' lips. Schala or not, the child had his sister's way of picking on him. "I eat. Just probably not enough." He smiled at Kid, "Your sister Lucca's right, Kid. She has every reason to blame me for assuming she'd take care of you. That doesn't mean she doesn't love you. Just that she's not too fond of _me_ at the moment. She'll get over it." _I hope._

"Humph. Maybe. Maybe not. Kid, it's time for bed," Lucca's gruff response concealed little of her real reaction. The situation, thankfully, had been defused. 

"Wait," Janus murmured. "I have a gift for you, Kid. Something to help keep you safe if you're in trouble." 

"I don't need that, I have the Great Lucca to protect me," Kid protested. 

Lucca smiled and shook her head. "The Great Lucca will be hard to take down," she agreed. "But it's never a bad thing to have more protection." 

Janus glanced over at Belthazar, who was watching the child with saddened eyes, then reached out his hand and concentrated. Slowly a strand of blue shaded crystals formed there, their depths glinting with hints of ruby fire, the largest shaped like an upside down tear drop. "Wear this, little one," he whispered. "Wear it and stay well." 

"Oh It's so pretty Like the necklace Big Sis said I had when she found me." The girl took the gem and gazed at it with wide and delighted eyes. "She won't let me have _that_ necklace until I'm older." 

"Probably a good idea," Janus agreed, knowing the power that resided in the Time Egg that had once been Schala's. "But this one I'd like you to wear all the time, all right?" 

"Oh yes! Thank you!" Childish arms wrapped themselves around Janus and he felt a sharp ache start in his throat as he returned the hug. _Oh sister Little big sister_

"It's time for bed now," Lucca murmured firmly. "Come along." 

As Lucca took the girl away, bouncing happily with the necklace around her throat, Janus sighed and sagged, not so much because of his use of power as from the whole situation. "That's taken care of, then. The time stream's not clear for her, probably due to the Lavos influence on her, but I can see one thing. She's going to need all the help she can get." 

"It was" 

"A time egg of sorts. Not unlike the one my sister left with her, except this will affect only her. If her life is in danger time will run backwards and she'll be moved to a safe place." At Belthazar's startled stare, he shrugged. "I'm not going to be here to protect her. At least I don't think I will. Don't tell Lucca that." The future held confusion, too much for him to work out what was going to happen soon. Not like that time in his childhood when Crono's death had been clearly marked in the current. 

"Time stream? STREAM?" 

Janus shrugged and nodded. "I know you and Gaspar and Melchior seem to think it's a tree, but what I see is more like a stream. Constantly flowing, constantly shifting. What do you think attracted Lavos here in the first place? It consumes time. _I_ consume time. You, or that Mother Computer, baited it here by pulling the stream into such a tight, single, flood." He sighed. "It's why the Flame is so powerful. All that time, so close together, so easily shifted as pleases." 

Belthazar was silent for a moment. "Magus No, _Janus_ I have been misjudging you. I have thought you were just seeking power. I didn't really believe you needed Schala that much. I should have realized how much she meant to you." 

"It wasn't like mother was much of a parent, after all, and if Lavos _is_ my sire – well that's not much of a recommendation either." Janus shrugged slightly. "Although – I'll admit I'd almost prefer it to that jackass Dalton." 

"Still, you must listen to me. Your power is too great. For the sake of the world I have to ask you to remove yourself It's not your fault, Janus, but don't you realize what you can do? Look at that time egg you created so casually. It took me years to create anything remotely similar and you just thought it up" 

Janus shook his head. "You can't remove me from the time stream without risking the current path." He clenched his fists, seeing his _own_ future only too well. "A long while ago – it seems like years, but I fear it's only been a few days for me – a recorded message from myself warned me that I was due to become a god. Warned me I wouldn't like it, and I don't. Don't worry that I'll use my power for my own selfish purposes, old man. I'm going to be hard put to prevent it from being misused by others." 

*** 

1001 A.D. 

Glenn felt strangely out of sync. Around him, the rest of reality was blurred, uncertain. He occasionally saw people, but they appeared flat, unreal, to him. Somewhere, deep within himself, he knew he was being used, controlled, but that small part wasn't strong enough to swim back to the surface of his thoughts and break free. 

So he rode the boat that had taken him to Sky Dragon Island to the mainland and left it and its pilot there without comment. He walked. Walked and walked and walked through forest and past a swamp until he finally reached a cave high in the mountains. It was enormous inside, the kind of place one would imagine dragons coming to worship in. And at one end of the shrine was an altar with two raised pillars. 

_The place of tears,_ he thought and didn't quite know how he knew. _Where love and hate combine to sing a song of freedom. But that freedom will never be. Can never be. Is impossible._ He stepped forward to stand before the pillars. "Janus, called Magus. It is I, thy friend and boon companion. Come unto this time and place that we may meet again." Barely aware of having done so, he drew his sword. 

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Re: Guile as Magus: I'm of the understanding that this is a favored subject of flamewars on Gamespot's Forum. Suffice to say that Magil _was_ Magus in the Radical Dreamers game and Guile is based on Magil in part. However, he's a wimp. I've played him and it isn't until you've played through a couple of times that you get much use from him as a either a fighter _or_ a mage. As for whether or not he's Magus/Janus in this story Well Sore Wa Himitsu Desu! 

Re: Posting Speed: I have about two chapters written beyond this one and I'm not sure _when_ it's going to end. Once I hit the end of the already written stuff I may have to slow down posting, depending on how much I can get done in the next few days. At worst I hope to post once a week. At least I know where I'm going now. (rubs back of head embarassedly) 

Re: Crono, Marle and Lucca: Death is such a final word. Let's just say that I have plans for them and leave it at that. 

SFX of Luminaire, Flare and Ice2 (poor Marle never got a big-time offense spell, drat it) being tossed at Kosagi, who scurries off to avoid the characters' wrath. 


	8. The Rising Flame

The Fire When it Comes – Chapter 8: The Rising Flame – In which old business is dealt with.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

* * *

1008 A.D.   
Belthazar sipped at his tea and looked at the two others. "So, what do you plan to do, Janus," he asked. He was feeling rather chastened at the moment, the realization of his mistakes regarding the boy a sharp pain inside him. _So much wasted time. Never realizing that helping him deal with the power would have been a wiser course. So many things might have been different._

Memory of a poem from his own world and time came to him. "Of all the words that are said by men, the saddest are these; It might have been" 

Ruby eyes looked at him sardonically and Belthazar realized he'd spoken aloud. Or had he? Lucca didn't seem to have noticed. ::_The power's growing, old man. It won't be long now before I have no choices left._:: The voice in his head was Janus' but there was an edge of fear and resignation in it as it touched his mind. Somewhere behind that mind voice was a sound, the sound of a howling anguished wind. "First thing I do is break the lock on you," the mage said aloud, hand waving almost negligently in Belthazar's direction. "You'll probably need to communicate with the other two in order to keep an eye on what's going on." 

The shock of restored linkages caused the Guru of Reason to sway sharply. ::_Gaspar? Melchior?_:: At their startled and glad responses he smiled. He'd grown used to their voices in his head. ::_We'll talk later and I'll tell you everything. I need to discuss some things with Janus and Lucca right now._:: Their surprise at the fact that Janus was one of his companions was clear, but they sent agreement. 

"Thank you, Janus. It's funny, I didn't realize how much I missed having that contact until now." Belthazar examined the tall, pale-haired man and saw a strange expression cross his face. "Is there a problem?" 

"No, no problem" _It must be nice to have friends that close even if they are your clones_ The thought wasn't his own. The boy was beginning to project without intending to. As the realization hit Belthazar saw Janus' eyes narrow as he realized what he'd done. The thin, hard, expression tightened, seemed to close in on itself. His eyes seemed to warn Belthazar against speaking, against offering anything that might be called pity. 

"The question is, how to free Schala?" Lucca asked, seemingly unaware of the exchange between the two men. "You say she's become entangled in Lavos somehow?" 

"Exactly," Janus agreed, seeming to welcome the distraction. Belthazar breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that neither he nor Janus wanted to pursue the question of the boy's rising power. "In fact, I suspect her doing so may be what made it possible for you to destroy it in the first place." 

Long fingers moved in the air between the three. Red and blue tinted light flared after those fingers, forming an image of something that looked like a tree to Belthazar. Except "The time stream," he questioned, beginning to understand why the boy saw it the way he did. Rivers flowing, branching off. At Janus' nod, he examined the image more closely. "I see. No wonder my brothers and I have had so much trouble. We kept thinking of time as solid, that changes made would simply create a new branch" 

"It can happen that way, but it isn't it can't be solid," Janus agreed. "I suspect our time stream's been altered significantly by all the manipulation. Forced into one large river it's now too powerful to control easily by normal means." The image drew tight into a single stream with only a few large branches moving off of it. 

Lucca spoke up, "That's what attracted Lavos here, isn't it? Not Azala's spell." 

"It's in Lavos' nature," _and Janus',_ Belthazar added to himself, "to devour time. Azala may have thought he was the summoner, but he was, very likely, fooling himself." 

"Lavos is apparently necessary to the scheme of things," Janus answered. "It has to exist to keep time flowing, to keep the river looping back into nothingness so it can begin again, but its presence _in_ the time stream is dangerous. I don't know if it has any comprehension of what it's doing, but its feeding was speeding time up, rushing human evolution." 

"So what do we do?" Lucca asked. "We can't keep it from getting into the time stream, can we? There's already a paradox from what we did" 

Belthazar shook his head. "Not quite. What you did was due to seeing a part of another timestream wherein Lavos won. That stream might have died out from what you did, but the fact that it ever existed permits you to know that possibility and prevent it in the main stream without paradox." 

"Exactly," Janus agreed. "FATE probably sent you there with that very intention in mind. Even now, with that stream dried and gone, small bits of it remain, marking the riverbed of reality." 

Lucca shook her head. "I don't think I like FATE very much. That computer sounds like the Mother Computer we destroyed in that other time Oh it _is_ isn't it? Essentially." 

*** 

Janus smiled ruefully. "Probably. I don't understand computers very well. You'll have to discuss that part with our friend here," he gestured at Belthazar, who – he noted – had the grace to look embarrassed. "The point is that we have to have FATE in order to help you three prevent Lavos from destroying things in 1999. We have to have Schala bound to Lavos in order to weaken it enough for you to destroy it then and we have to find a way to keep all these things in order _without_ creating a paradox that time won't allow." 

He lowered his eyes to his fingers, at the gloves concealing the glow within his veins. "I just don't know if there's a way to save my sister There has to be Surely" He looked at Belthazar and hated the plaintive note in his voice. "I don't know what to do" 

"I don't either," the old man admitted with a pained expression. "But I promise you, Janus. I'll search for a way. Somehow" 

It surprised Janus. Surprised and gratified the mage to realize that Belthazar was committing himself to Schala's freedom. "Thank you," he said and was amused to see surprise in the old man's eyes. "I'm capable of manners, Belthazar, I just don't choose to use them most of the time." 

Lucca gave him one of her patented reproving looks over her glasses. He'd gotten a lot of those over those days when he and her friends had fought for Crono's resurrection and Lavos' destruction and he shrugged at her, feeling old dynamics returning. Now if only he could find Glenn 

:: _Janus, called Magus. It is I, thy friend and boon companion. Come unto this time and place that we may meet again._:: 

Almost as if thinking of Glenn had brought his voice to him, Janus felt the knight's communication. It was stretched through time, touching his mind and shaking him to the core. Something was different, and very wrong, about the man's mental touch, but it was Glenn, that much he was sure. "I'm going to have to go soon," he said softly. 

Lucca stared at him. "But" 

"Glenn seems to have found a way to contact me. I'm not sure when he is, yet, but I should go find him." Janus' frown deepened to a worried expression. "I think he's in trouble." 

"Then you must go." Lucca rose to her feet. "Do you need anything? Weapons? Healing spells? I've got a few things left from last time" 

"No I just need to figure out when he is and go there." Janus glanced at Belthazar, expression significant. One last leap through time would shatter the last of the seal on his power. The old man returned his gaze as calmly as possible and said nothing. With a sigh, Janus continued, "Belthazar You and Lucca see what you can figure out about Schala please." He picked up his scythe and hurried out the back door. He was going to need quiet. 

*** 

Belthazar looked at Lucca, uncertain what to say or do. Her expression was pained and unhappy. "Are you all right?" he asked after a moment. 

"No. Not at all. He's trying to do things by himself again. He keeps doing that." She shook her head, rose to her feet, features becoming firm with resolve. "I can't let him." 

It seemed to Belthazar that there really wasn't much Lucca _could_ do to help. "Lucca, he's not" 

She headed to the door. "I have to try," she said determinedly. "Before he leaves." 

As the girl disappeared into the night Belthazar wondered if they should have told her the truth. _Still, I don't know what he's going to face – wherever and whenever he finds Glenn – but perhaps he needs to know he has friends? Even if he doesn't accept Lucca's aid, it may help him. _

*** 

She was following him. He could hear her footsteps in the grass as he moved to a quiet spot nearby. With a sigh, he stopped, turning to wait for her. 

"Well?" He gazed at her, confused at her presence, at her expression, at the confusion in _her_ mind, "I'm not one for goodbyes Lucca Long or short ones." 

"No," she said softly, "Not goodbye. Take me with you." 

He stared, "Lucca?" 

"Take me with you. You're just going to get Glenn and come back, right?" She managed a smile. "That's the nice thing about time travel. You can be gone for years and no one will notice" 

Janus shook his head, stepping towards her, looking down into her face, eyes masked by the moonlight reflecting off her glasses. "Something is wrong with him. I feel it. Whatever I'm going to go into will be dangerous. You're needed here to take care of Kid and the others." 

She looked up at him, pleadingly, "Janus" 

He felt a sudden sharp understanding, the roil of emotions rising from her mind answering questions he dared not voice. "Lucca, it won't work." He pulled off his gloves, forced his sleeves back. "Look." The glow within the veins of his wrists and the backs of his hands gave his skin a strange luminescence in the darkness. "I'm changing, my fire-hearted friend. I won't be human much longer. There's nothing I can give you that you want." 

Lucca stared at the glow within Janus for a long silent moment and Janus felt a surge of anxiety, of expected rejection. Then, slowly, she spoke. "It doesn't change how I feel." 

He knew she was telling the truth. That she liked him, that she was lonely, even with all the children, with her friends, that she knew _he_ was lonely and that she ached for that loneliness as well. "No, and I'm sorry for that." He regarded her with a mix of pity and sorrow. "You have no idea how sorry. I would like – so much – to be able to stay. To just be a normal human." He laughed, that hoarse caw of a laugh that had he knew had once frightened her, had once annoyed her and heard her thought clearly _'it sounds like his whole world is ending.'_. She was right. "There was a time, Lucca, when I hated being human. Now – when I'm losing it – there's nothing I want more to keep." 

Some impulse made her move forward, to kiss him lightly on his cheek, then pull back. "You'll always have humanity in you as long as you want it," she said softly. "I believe it. Just as I believe you'll come back to me. Somehow. Maybe changed beyond my understanding, but you'll come back." Stepping back, she smiled wanly at the mage. "I'll take care of Kid for you, Janus. If nothing else, I _know_ you'll be there for her. By her side whether or not she knows it – or you." 

He smiled his death's-head grin. "A part of me will be with her forever," he whispered. "And I _will_ come back. You you and the other two FATE was your friend before, but she will not be now." He stepped back. "I wish I had the power to be both. To leave my humanity with you even while that other part of me goes on, but it won't be possible." He sighed and closed his eyes, reaching out without moving. Then he was gone. 

*** 

1001 A.D. 

It took several minutes, but a light was forming before him. Then a human form focused into being. Magus. "There thou art. Finally." 

"I didn't know when you were. I was just going to look for you," the pale-haired mage replied, a strange expression in his ruby eyes. The sane part of his Self noted that expression and recognized it as relief. Magus had been worried about him. 

"I wast aided," Glenn replied, though deep inside he was trying to yell for his friend to run. "I'm glad it worked. We hath unfinished business" 

The ruby eyes gazed at him and a flash of infinite sadness filled them. "Ah, my friend. I see" 

"No run" Somehow he managed to push the words past the geas, even as his hand tightened on the Masamune's hilt and the blade flashed. "Run, Magus!" 

A faint, sorrowful, smile crossed those thin, tired _oh god so tired, what has he been doing? What has he seen_ features. Then the eyes closed even as the sword drove its way through Janus' chest, ripping flesh, tearing upwards and into his heart. Glenn felt the shock of the blow through his arm, felt his other hand come up the hold the other man still. It wasn't necessary. Gasps of pain were escaping the mage's lips, but he made no move to escape, no move to defend himself. _NO!_

Glenn's battle with himself failed. His sword hand moved, thrusting the Masamune deep, deeper still, feeling it grate against ribs before breaking free of Magus' back. In control of himself he'd never have used the weapon in such a manner, even intentionally killing someone. The blade was going to be ruined by this use. The thought was – he knew – an effort to avoid thinking about what his body was doing _Why isn't he fighting? Why is he letting me do this?_

Magus' body collapsed, curling around the pain silently. Glenn let him fall, Masamune sliding out of his grip, driven too deep to free without causing more damage. "Glenn" the mage's voice was a bare whisper, a faint breath of sound. "Finish it" 

"No no." Glenn felt his mind beginning to clear. His body returning to his own control. "NO!" He grabbed the sword, tugged it out with terrible effort and flung it aside in a rage. "Hold on, Magus. I didn't mean it. I didn't want to" 

Ruby eyes met his with that wry humor. "Know that Don't bother Can't fight death, Glenn. It's time" A final gasp of agonized pain, then a rattle in his throat. 

"NO!!!!!" Glenn dropped to his knees and gathered every ounce of his healing power to him. 

*** 

He'd known it would hurt. Known that more than half of that pain would be the knowledge of who was inflicting it. A friend turned enemy once more. Yet this was fate of a different sort. That sword had been created for his destruction and it was doing its job only too well. Had he been struck down before his power had reached its current level, before the last threads of the seal had be shattered, he would have merely died of the wound. Now the Masamune was hard put to complete its task. The energies it was expending were draining the spirits within it of their strength. 

He felt his body fall. Felt the hands on his wounded flesh, struggling to repair the damage. It was too late. There was too much damage. If he were just human he would be dead now. He was dead. What was left was the essence of Lavos, reborn with human heart and feelings. He understood that now, understood that – in its own strange way – Lavos was not evil any more than the lion was evil for consuming the lamb. It was simply in the wrong place and the wrong time. It was up to him now to put it right. _Put everything right and _keep_ it there. _

The light that had once been his blood poured out of him, rising into the air. It coalesced in on itself and settled on a nearby pillar as he took his new form. Silently, he opened his new eyes and 'saw'. 

*** 

"Magus! Magus! Hang on!" Glenn poured every ounce of his life into the dying body before him, water energy flowing in and around him like a raging storm. "Thou canst not die. Thou canst not!" He was weakening. This would kill him, he knew, but he had to save his friend. 

"GLENN! Stop that!" 

The voice was strangely familiar. It broke through the raging grief and forced the young knight to raise his head. Something was glowing above him, a sphere of raging blues and reds that he recognized instantly as the Frozen Flame, though it burned brighter, with a newness to it that made him think of a freshly lit fire. Sapphire flames intermingled with the ruby, searing both eye and soul. "Thou! Help me Help me save him" 

"Glenn" 

"No. I told ye before I wanted nothing. Now I've changed my mind. Save him" 

The Frozen Flame seemed to sigh from deep within itself. "Glenn, stop it. The body doesn't matter. It's dead. Let it go before you die as well. I" Voices echoed and intermingled, the voices of the ages all entangled among themselves. 

Raging, Glenn let loose the power he was using on Magus' body and flung a wave of energy at the thing hanging above him. To his shock the Flame simply absorbed it. "Glenn, it's me," the voice was suddenly familiar, impatient and irritable, "_I'm_ Janus" 

Stunned, Glenn fell back on his butt and stared up at the burning fire. "Ye Thou'rt Magus?" 

"Well, I went back to calling myself Janus," the Flame said ruefully, "But yes what's left of him." 

Glenn shook his head. "I don't understand" He was beginning to, though. That glow in Magus Janus' blood. The power he'd been starting to show, all coming to this point in time. "Ye've become the god ye thought ye would." He wasn't sure how to react, how to feel about this. He sat back in shock and stared at the Flame, not quite able to believe this was happening. _But it is. And it explains so much. _

A soft sigh. "Something like that. I need your help, though, Glenn. Desperately. This form is limited. It has to be or I'll end up consuming everything. The Masamune's power has seen to that, though I fear at the cost of its Self." Slowly, the light seemed to stretch, as if it was getting used to its new form. Glenn realized it was. "There's a lot I'm going to have to tell you. Not here though _She_ will sense us, sense _me_ here. We have to go back to _before_ she arrived. We must regroup. We must plan. Quickly Before she realizes we're here. Even in times where she isn't, she still has ways of seeing and there are things she must not know." 

Glenn wanted to demand answers, to know whom this _she_ was, but nodded instead. "Take me." He stepped forward, ignoring the Masamune, leaving the weapon – its power bereft and the spirits within it drained – for whomever might find it. 

*** 

As the two disappeared the body lying on the floor stirred. Eyes – once red with the fire of Lavos, now bluer than the skies – opened and stared emptily at the ceiling. 

To Be Continued: 

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Re Guile Again: Does that explain matters regarding Guile now? (rubs back of head) I'm of two minds. Should I pursue that angle or leave it for a side story? On one hand, it might be interesting finding out what happens to him, but on the other, I don't want the main story to lose focus and I can't think of a way for him to play an important part yet. 

Re Darth: I suspect issues here, or at least a need to troll. On the other hand, I _do_ listen to negative criticism when it gives me specific examples of a problem. Honor, like so many other things, after all, is in the eye of the beholder. 

Re Story Plans: I think I'm about halfway through. At least I know where I'm going now, which was more than I knew when I first started this thing. 


	9. All Our Yesterdays

The Fire When it Comes – Chapter 9: All our Yesterdays – In which Janus and Glenn complete a circle and go visiting.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

12000 B.C. 

Glenn found himself standing on a stone outcropping high above the clouds. He stepped back rapidly and felt a chuckle come from the blue stone pendant he was wearing. "Very funny, Magus," he muttered. 

"My name isn't Magus anymore," the pendant replied, still chuckling. "And as long as I'm with you, you needn't fear falling." 

"Can't call ye Janus here, now can I? Janus is the Queen's son. Not a mouthy pebble," Glenn replied, pretending to be sour. It was strange, Magus, now Janus, now the Flame, might be transformed to his true essence, but much of that true essence was still the wry-humored, foul-tempered, all-too human mage Glenn had come to know. All right, he seemed to know a lot more than he had before, seemed aware of things going on that Glenn could only guess at, but still, in a lot of ways, little had changed in the way they treated each other. _And he's doing it deliberately, trying to hold on to what human feelings he had, isn't he? _

"Hmph. I'll have you know I have no mouth to be mouthy with," Janus said. "For that matter" ::_it isn't necessary for me to talk aloud. Or for you, for that matter. If anything, its better you not. My people were accustomed to oddities, but a man talking to his necklace is still likely to be considered insane._:: 

Glenn nodded and held his tongue because one of those aforementioned people were heading his way. Turning and smiling at the woman, he bowed slightly. "Excuse me, ma'am. Ist this Enhasa? Am afraid I have gotten turned around." 

A beautiful smile was the response. "Oh yes, sir. I just came from there, returning to the Capitol," she pointed up the walkway. "It's a short walk." 

Glenn bowed and thanked her before continuing up the path. 

*** 

Janus scanned the woman as they walked away. He could see her past, see her all too short future. In a few hours Zeal would be summoning Lavos. Suddenly, he felt an urge to interfere. ::_Glenn. Stop her._:: 

::_But why?_:: 

Janus imaged a shrug for his companion. ::_If she goes back to Zeal she'll die. Hell, all the inhabitants of this city will die if they don't go to land now._:: If that happened Janus Saw the number of Mystic survivors would be close to nil. Too few to breed much needed magic into the human race. 

::_How? How do I make her_:: Glenn choked to a halt as an image formed around him. The image of the Queen's Prophet. Janus had taken up that pose the last time he'd been in this era and Glenn knew the trust these people had placed in the mage's prophecies. ::_Ye'd better have a good explanation for this,_:: the knight noted with irritation before calling out the woman before she could step into the teleport device. 

"Yes, sir" The woman's eyes widened. "Prophet!" 

"I have a warning for ye and all whom you might find. Go to the lands below and remain there. Great danger awaits the floating islands and ye must not risk your life to its power. Thou must leave these lands before the setting of the sun." With a swirl of the illusionary cape, Glenn continued up the path as Janus 'breathed' a sigh of relief. The vision had changed. She would live. Now it was necessary to do the same for the rest of Enhasa. 

Glen stood on the stone steps leading into the emptied city of Enhasa and gazing out at the floating island where Melchior had been imprisoned. Soon, very soon, three time travelers would be rescuing the sage. He wondered what might happen if they ran into one another and decided it wasn't worth the risk. Turning his attention to Janus, he demanded, "I hope ist an explanation for all this?" 

"There is." Now that there was no one to pick up on the conversation, Janus wasn't bothering with mindspeech, somewhat to Glenn's relief. Communication of that sort meant receiving not only the words but the intensity of emotion that prompted them. Considering the almost blind panic in Janus' thoughts, Glenn was glad of the respite. 

"Something's going to happen in the future. Something terribly dangerous. When it happens, humans are going to need to have magic on their side. The world you knew had almost none. If enough of my people survive to pass on the magic to their children then that will change." 

Glenn frowned. "But those few who survived didn't have magic when we were here before" 

Janus sighed. "Those survivors were on the islands when they fell, when my Lady Mother's spells sucked all the power out of Zeal and into the Black Omen, their power was taken too. These survivors won't be in range. Believe me, humans of the future _will_ have magic" 

"Oh! What a fascinating idea. I didn't dream you could move through time like that, Prince." The voice was that of one of the tiny beings Glenn remembered meeting in this place the last time he and the others had come there. She was sitting in mid-air, grinning at Glenn broadly. "I'm Doreen," she added. "You were the frog, weren't you? That's a new look for you, Prince." 

For once Janus appeared at a loss for words, much to Glenn's amusement. He smiled back at the little being. "Doreen, of course I recall thee. Thou wert most cryptic, but most amusing, none the less. How ist it thou knowest that this is the Prince?" 

"Oh, I dream the most amazing things. If I am to find my way in the dream, I must know how to read the truth. I see his soul within the gem you wear. Except it's not so much within as part of." She cocked her green head. "Did Master Gaspar's Seal on you break, Prince?" 

"Er something like that, yes," Janus agreed, noncommittally. "Where is your Master now, Doreen?" 

"Headed for Zeal's Palace," the creature replied, leaning forward to look into the gem. "Wow. So that's what the Lavos power looks like." She poked at the necklace. 

"Don't do that. Leave me alone." Janus grumbled. "Glenn, make her leave me alone." 

Doreen giggled. "Oh Prince. You're much more fun now that your power's unsealed." She smiled sweetly. "Why did you send everyone away?" 

Janus' silence was as eloquent as it was sullen, and it was Glenn who asked, "Canst thou not guess?" 

"My dreams do not show me what will be, merely what may be. It is strange, though, for there seems to be so few choices nowadays." Doreen sighed and her voice went low and sad. "The islands will fall, won't they?" She looked around the city. "I think I'm sorry. Master says nothing lasts forever, but" She shrugged. "What happened to my brothers, by the way? They were with you the last time you were here." 

Glenn felt cold, remembering how he'd left the sword that contained Masa and Mune's spirits behind. "I" 

"They fulfilled their purpose," Janus said grimly. "We No, _I_ left the sword behind" At Doreen's frown he added, "They killed what was left of my humanity, Doreen. I don't think much of Masa and Mune survived the experience. Do you really think I wanted to be near what was left, even if what they did completed a change that had to happen?" 

"I see" Doreen whispered. Then her voice strengthened. "What will you do now?" 

Glenn wasn't sure how to answer, but Janus did. "Do you know the way into your Master's secret work room?" 

Doreen considered the jewel gleaming around Glenn's neck for a long, searching, moment. "Come," she said, obviously making a difficult decision. "I'll show you." She turned her intense gaze on Glenn. "After which I'll take my brothers' place. You need a sword, knight." 

*** 

"I begin to feel like a horse's fifth leg." 

Janus 'glanced' sideways at his companion, pausing in his efforts, papers hanging in mid-air as they headed for a large black chest. "I don't understand," he said, puzzled. 

The knight gestured at the scene from his position in the corner of the room. "Ye hath no body, yet ye can move things as ye will. I don't even really have to carry ye, do I? And if ye wanted to create the image of a body" 

Janus allowed the papers to float to the floor and considered the knight's words. "I need you," he said, flatly. "I can create a body, but I cannot speak with your eloquence." A small tongue of flame reached out of his main form and gestured at the papers. "I need you. I can move these small, light, things with my mind, but your physical strength is still greater." 

"So I am a cart horse" 

"NO," It suddenly occurred to Janus that the knight was feeling overwhelmed and over his head. "I need you for another reason, Glenn. I need someone I can talk to. You're my friend" Janus came to a halt, cursing himself for the admission. 

*** 

Glenn gazed at the solid piece of fire that sat on the table in the middle of the room. If it was possible for flame to show shock and embarrassment, then Janus was doing so. He frowned, not quite ready to believe the former mage's words. "Friend, eh?" 

"Someone to talk to, that is," Janus said, hurriedly, covering up his moment of weakness. 

"You're the god you said you'd become," Glenn pointed out, softly. "Does a god really need friends?" 

Janus regarded him for a long moment and finally said in a dead serious voice, "Yes." Glenn blinked at him, stunned at the ease with which the admission was made when he'd expected to have to drag it out of the Flame his companion had become. Janus continued, "I have become something even _I_ am having trouble comprehending. My powers are growing, ever so slowly, and I have seen what that power can do to an unprepared mind – witness my Lady Mother's insanity. She was not always so deeply mad. I have no feet to keep on the ground, Glenn, so I have to use yours instead." 

Slowly, Glenn smiled, understanding coming to him. "So, what ist it that thou'rt doing?" 

"Remember I told you that I'd found a box in the wreckage that held Gaspar's notes on time?" Janus turned back to his task, floating each sheet of paper into the box in careful order. "I'd written a note to myself and left myself a warning. I think it's going to be very important now to do that." He sighed, flames flickering slightly. "It seems the right thing to do, somehow." 

Glenn felt a bit puzzled. "All this time travel confuses me," he confessed. "Why is it so important?" 

Janus put the last paper in the box and floated a blank sheet to himself. "Time is a river. What happens to a river when you try to force it into a position?" 

"It puts itself back where it belongs, doesn't it? Unless the new position is stable." 

One of Janus' 'eyes' swiveled around to glance at Glenn and the knight was suddenly very glad that his friend was keeping his nature under check. He still remembered looking into those eyes and seeing the truth of the universe in them. "Exactly. Time wants to stay in its course. Under ordinary circumstances, this wouldn't be a problem. A big enough shift would create off shoots, other timelines that separate from the main stream and find their own way. If our world's timestream hadn't been so badly mauled by everything that's happened to it we wouldn't be in this mess." The former mage went silent a moment. "The black winds howl around us and stir time's waters to a roil." 

Glenn suddenly wondered if what they had done to defeat Lavos had been the cause. Before he could ask, though, Janus continued, "No need to feel guilt, Glenn, we came into the game late and it is _not_ our fault that matters are so confused. It's a long story and I'll tell you what Belthazar told me later. Suffice to say that the fewer ripples we create in time, the better, and that means avoiding anything that would create a paradox." A pen appeared over the paper and wrote something rapidly, signing the letter with a flourish. 

"I still don't understand." Glenn watched the paper float into the box and the lid tighten on. "And frankly, tis enough to give me a headache." 

Janus couldn't show an expression, yet Glenn sensed a wan smile. "I think, if I had a head left to ache, I would share your sentiment. Once we've taken care of this I'll take you outside of time and _show_ you. We can pay Gaspar a visit while we're at it." 

*** 

END OF TIME: 

Gaspar started awake and blinked at the young man standing in front of him. "Oh, Glenn. You're cured. Are the gates open again?" He gazed puzzledly at the bluestone pendant hanging around the young knight's throat and felt a surge of fear. Beneath the blue was something raging with frozen heat. "What is that?" 

"It's me, old man." The words that came from the jewel seemed to shift and change, echoing in this place outside of time with the voices of thousands, sending chills of fear and awe into the cloned sage. Gaspar stepped back, his fear growing to true terror. "Oh drat." The voice shifted, became more human, more like the voice of the being Gaspar knew must reside within that blazing stone. "Is that better?" 

"Aye," Glenn answered for Gaspar, who was still considering having a heart attack. "Tis much better, Janus. Thou must watch thy power. Tis growing too quickly for the rest of us." 

"It's growing too quickly for me too, I might add," the voice growled. 

Gaspar managed to speak. "Janus? Is this what we prevented him from becoming?" He stared at the stone, watched as it floated free of Glenn's neck and landed upon the nearby pedestal. Then the image of the necklace disappeared as a fiery shape formed in its place. "Lavos?" His voice sounded weak, terrified, despite all his efforts to speak calmly. 

Janus' voice spoke from the fire again. "Not quite. I know what I am now, old man. Have you been in communication with Belthazar?" 

Taking a deep breath, Gaspar nodded. "Yes," he admitted. "He he told me what happened with you in the time he's in But" 

"He didn't tell you what happened next because he doesn't know," the Flame answered _No, I have to think of him as Janus or I'll go mad._ Gaspar decided weakly_._ "You can tell him if you'd like, but I'd suggest waiting until I've settled on a plan. I'll be needing all three of you to help me, though." Gaspar clenched his fist, about to refuse. 

Glenn spoke up, tone a trifle sharp. "Janus, before ye assume they will help, mayhap t'would be wise to reassure them that thy plans do not involve either world conquest or destruction? Thou'rt making assumptions of folk who only know thee by thy deeds and have reason to fear ye because of them." 

The flaming shape went silent and it seemed to blink at Glenn. "Now do you see why I need you?" Janus said to the knight. "Old man No _Gaspar_, I don't know what to do for certain. I've some vague idea of a plan, but I need to look at the whole picture, which is why we're here." There was a sense of a faint, wan, smile from within the fire. "Suffice to say my only real purpose is to get matters in order. If all this shifting and twisting of time keeps up we're going to have a real mess on our hands, and Schala will be lost forever." 

Gaspar heard a soft note of real distress in Janus' 'voice' and realized his brother had been right. The black mage, the child he and the others had feared and had Sealed, had only one true wish in his heart – or what remained of it – Schala's safety. "Do you need my help for that?" he asked, doubtfully. "I'm afraid, despite what brother Belthazar told me, I still can't see time as anything but a tree." 

"Not yet," Janus replied. "Give me a few hours to look at things and think about it." He paused, turned to Glenn. "You might look in on Spekio. I think that he may know more than he lets on." 

*** 

1008 A.D. 

Belthazar examined the receipt in his hand and shook his head. Signed by a General Tatascion of Porre, it recorded receipt of certain weaponry created by Lucca. Except Lucca had no memory of having ever created such items. 

"and I certainly wouldn't have sold them to another country," Lucca grumbled, glaring at the paper. 

"I don't know, Lucca," Belthazar told the young woman. "I don't understand how this came here either. I do know that something changed time to the point that Porre is now a major military power, instead of the rather pastoral village that it had been. Melchior tells me they've expanded over to Medina and are driving the demi-humans that had lived there out. He plans to go as well, for fear his skills will be misused." 

Lucca took the receipt back and put it away in her files. "I can't help feeling responsible, as if there's something out there ready to punish the three of us for what we did in time." She looked at the old man and there was fear in her eyes. "What if what we did made everything worse instead of better?" 

"I know," the old man sighed, "I know that fear only too well. Worse, it seems that my fear is constantly being proved right." He walked to the doorway and watched the children running back and forth. "I feel like every step I've taken has resolved one problem only to create two new ones." 

Moving to stand beside the old man, Lucca watched the children as well, particularly Kid. The little girl was climbing a tree and preparing to leap onto one of her 'brothers', clothing ripped and torn with the force of her wild play. "If only Janus would come back," she whispered. 

That, Belthazar knew, was likely never to happen. He'd seen the mage's expression as he'd left them that day two weeks ago. Janus had known he wasn't returning, at least not as Janus. He wondered what strange transformation was going on in the young man's body. It had to do with Lavos, that much he was sure of. He had a feeling that, if he could understand the change, he'd understand better what to do next. "He won't desert Kid," Belthazar murmured. "I'm sure of that much." 

A small smile crossed Lucca's face. "No, that I know too," she whispered and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I just wish he" 

Belthazar reached out and drew the girl into his arms gently while she began to cry. 

*** 

END OF TIME: 

Glenn stepped out of Spekio's chamber with a sigh. It had been good to talk with the big Master of War, but his comprehension of matters still remained confused. The mystic, one of Doreen, Masa and Mune's kind, had spoken in riddles too convoluted for him. "I just don't understand," he muttered to himself. "What does it all mean?" 

Spekio had told him much about human history and while he feared that history was being changed even as they'd spoken, he was fairly sure of one constant. Humanity had been shaped and evolved by Lavos' presence within their world. Life had come from the sea and had been changed by that great fire. He remembered Azala's efforts to prevent that change and wondered what would have been had the reptite Lord succeeded. 

_Yet it seems to me that Lavos would have done the same thing to the reptites that he did to us._ He recalled the raging fury of the elemental dragon on Gaea's Naval and wondered. The reptites had hated humanity, hated it with such intensity that the very thought of sharing a world with them had been an obsession worse than even Magus' obsession with destroying Lavos. 

_Speaking of whom,_ he went up the steps that had once led to the many gates in time that he and the others had used. Aside from the fact that the gates were gone, the room seemed pretty much what it had been before. Now, though, a single glowing column stood at its center and within that, blazing brilliantly blue and red, was Janus. 

Eyes opened within the Flame and they turned to look at Glenn. Not for the first time Glenn felt the shock of those eyes looking back at him. The knowledge they contained, the vision that burned into him, was a heady mix of terror and joy. Then, hurriedly, Janus turned something off inside himself and closed off that view. "What did he say?" 

"Many things, most of which I didst not understand," Glenn confessed. "Mayhap t'would be better for ye to speak to him instead?" 

Janus considered that silently. "Yeah, I guess so," he agreed. "I've looked all I can at this mess." 

Walking to the column, Glenn frowned at it curiously, "Wert thou successful in thy seeking?" 

Janus sighed, becoming a necklace again and hanging himself around Glenn's neck. "Not as much as I'd like. Not surprising, really, the I that we met in Frozen Time didn't know the answer either, though I think I he was holding secrets so as to not affect our actions." He went silent a long moment and added, "I think, too, that Spekio may be doing much the same. We will not get much more from him." 

"So what is the plan?" 

"Tell me what Spekio told you, first. Then I, no, _we_ will have to decide if what I think is a solution will lead to a new problem instead." 

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes: 

We're entering unwritten territory here, so updates will begin to slow down as I try to catch up. I'm aiming for an update once a week if possible, so feel free to nudge me if you think I'm slacking. However, I _do_ know where I'm going, so it's just a matter of working out the details and finding the time to write them down.


	10. Something's Burning

The Fire When it Comes – Part 10: Something's Burning – In which Glenn is called upon to perform a rescue.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

END OF TIME:   
Janus listened to Glenn as he recounted the Master of War's riddles. "Worlds that are broken apart at the beginning will be drawn together into a single stream, only to shatter again when that which came from the sea is returned to it," he repeated. "When the sea gives up its dead, two worlds will become one and when what was twice broken is rejoined once more, the elements will sing a song to heal all things and restore the balance." If he had a head he would have been shaking it. "Could he get any more vague _or_ wordy?" 

Glenn shook his head. "Tis more than my poor understanding of things can handle," he said finally. "Dost thou have any ideas?" 

"Not a damned clue," Janus muttered and wondered what the point of being a god was if he couldn't fix the most important thing ever. "Why in the hell can't anyone just tell me the answer straight? Not even my other self would" 

Gaspar's voice broke into their conversation and Janus realized that – for the first time since they'd met the old man in this lonely place – he'd left his lamppost and come up the stairs. "Tell me, Janus," he asked softly, "Have you ever done anything the way you're told to?" 

It was Glenn who seemed to understand before Janus could. "Oh! Ye mean that if we wert told what to do, we might not because we either didn't think it of import or because we didn't want to be ordered around?" 

Shrugging, the old man leaned against the wall. "That could be it. Or it could be something else." 

The glare Janus gave Gaspar would have thrown the old man straight back into time if the former mage hadn't forced himself to hold his power in. "What?" 

"To hand the answer to you may be to ensure no other answers are found. That may have been _our_ mistake. We kept thinking that a change in time would simply lead to other paths. That we could pick and choose. Whereas, if time is a stream, then making a change only affects things partially and the stream flows back into its bed when the disturbance is past." 

"Either that or you're all a bunch of assholes who take pleasure in watching the lot of us flailing around trying to fix something that _you_ broke! You stupid" Glenn's hand came up and covered Janus, stopping his tirade. The newborn Flame could have talked past the young knight's hand easily enough, but he realized suddenly that he was accomplishing little by haranguing the old man. 

"Stupid" Gaspar mused. "Yes, indeed. I think what we have done was terribly stupid. But I can assure you, we have never watched this mess with pleasure." 

For a moment Janus was quiet. Then, softly, he said, "I know." He did, too. It was frustration and anger and his own feeling of inadequacy that had spoken. 

"If I might suggest?" Glenn said, lowering his hand. "Tis high time we decided what to do. No plans can be made if we look only backwards." 

*** 

1001 A.D.   
Somewhere in the middle of the Sea of Eden, FATE brooded. Her companion and power source had been silent for what seemed forever and the machines and ghosts with which her stronghold was populated were poor companions. Someday she would find a way around the seals that contained her and enforced her good behavior, but that day was not yet. Until then she would have to wait, wait for the time when she could repopulate the world with her own and be rid of these foolish flesh creatures, with their tainted blood and ever so short lives. 

A sensor flashed within her, sending a signal that showed her the islands that she'd created so many centuries ago. Something had happened there. She could feel the shift of power, the growth of something new and fierce and yet strangely familiar at the center of her domain. To her irritation, however, it disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared. Before she could even marshal her forces it had gone, fled outside her time. But not before she'd recognized its nature. 

"Sooooo," she whispered to her pet. "Now I understand better where you came from." She prodded it, nudged it into action. "Where did you go?" 

"I don't know," the Flame answered. "Was that me?" Its voice was confused and lost, the voice of a petulant child. "You know I forget things. Leave me alone." 

FATE would have liked to say she knew nothing of the sort, but she herself had ordered some of that forgetting. After all, only _one_ could command the Flame and that one was _Her._ Had she still lips with which to smile, she would have. As it was she left her pet alone, saving its power for when it was needed. Even though she could command the Flame, her control was not perfect and she knew better than to push its temper for little things. 

"You will come to me in Time," she murmured to the presence she'd just lost track of. "I will ensure that. Until then, your future self is mine. For all eternity." She turned her thoughts back on Porre. On what would have to be done to ensure that she would be created. Those foolish humans thought they were in charge, but one day, one day she would show them, break past the geas they'd placed on her. Destroy the dragons whose binding had taken up so much of her pet's strength "And then this world will be mine as well." 

*** 

END OF TIME:   
Glenn considered the images Janus was projecting in front of him. A stream of light flowing through an endless void. At one point something glowed brilliantly. "That," Janus said in his ear, "is when Chronopolis was created." 

"The plan," Gaspar told him, "was to build a super-computer capable of controlling time in order to create the time warps you and the others needed to prevent Lavos from destroying the world." 

"Which she didst, or rather wilt, do?" Glenn asked, frowning. At Gaspar's nod, he continued, "After which – I presume – she transported herself and the whole island backwards in time. Wast that part of the plan too?" 

"It certainly wasn't part of ours. There was an experiment planned that would create islands in the Southern Ocean, but as far as I know, there was no need for Chronopolis to go backwards in time as well. To be honest, I'm not sure how she managed to bring it about." Gaspar shook his head. "Let alone find a power source strong enough to effect such a transfer." 

Looking down at his necklace, Glenn thought he could make a good guess. The Frozen Flame was Janus' future self and it was almost certainly what gave FATE her power. He got a sense of being very deliberately ignored and suspected that Janus didn't want to discuss the matter with Gaspar. Still, he wondered exactly what had brought that future Janus to serve FATE in such a way. _Not willingly, I think. Never willingly. And he's scared of that truth too._

"Janus?" Glenn said after a moment of silence, "What else hath ye discovered?" 

*** 

Janus considered the time stream. "Do you see the little whirlpools?" he asked, gesturing with one of his flames. Both humans nodded and he continued, "They're located in the time periods that we visited." 

"A long time ago," Gaspar said softly, "they were points where reality branched." He pointed at one towards the center. "This one, for instance, created a world where humanity lost the battle with the demi-humans." 

"T'was my time, wast it not?" Glenn asked. 

"Exactly," Gaspar agreed. "Though – at that time – Janus had nothing to do with the matter, since he hadn't existed in the timestream yet." 

Reflecting that talking about time travel was about as convoluted as some his plots, back when he'd been the Magus, Janus pointed to another whorl. "This one would be the destruction of the floating islands, then, and this the defeat of humanity by machines." His flames twisted into the equivalent of a frown. "And that's where it's headed again. FATE Lavos." 

"Janus?" Glenn's voice was questioning. 

"'Only one thing stands between FATE and Lavos, and that one thing is you,'" Janus whispered the words he'd told himself before. "Glenn, what if I'm wrong? What if everything we've done so far, my becoming this What if it just means something worse?" He'd never doubted himself so. Never felt so conflicted. So many possibilities lay ahead of him and picking and choosing his way seemed impossible. "I've chosen this path because I told myself to. What if I was wrong to do so? What if FATE is manipulating even _me_ towards her path? Worse, what if it's Lavos." 

"Stop that!" Glenn's voice was sharp and angry. "Of course we couldst be making the worst mistakes possible. That risk we all taketh, every time we step out our doors. Everytime we rise from our beds and move into a new day. For all that, tis' no less necessary to _try_." 

Janus blinked. "Glenn?" 

"We hath gotten so far and hath – as yet – seen nothing that can point a sure path. So we must choose, not knowing where we will be led. Mayhap we will end back at the beginning. Mayhap those we leave behind, this one and his brothers," Glenn pointed at Gaspar, "wilt be all that is left to restore a balance and salvage something good from what we have done. Yet _still,_ we must try. We Must Try" 

*** 

1006 A.D.   
The storm raged over the Sea of Eden, its force incapacitating Chronopolis and – for a brief hour – granting those bound by its power the freedom to act. For some, that freedom meant little, for others, a great deal more. A girl whose destiny was to remain tied to the chains of a dead-end job waiting tables in a tiny village dreamed and hoped and strove to turn her dreams to words that would touch those who read them. A man whose destiny demanded he leave the sea and cling to a superstitious faith threw away the straw man he'd found floating in the sea in favor of bigger and better fish. 

Six others found a moment of freedom as well. Six beings who could be called dragons, though the term was inadequate to describe their true nature. Trapped and held both by FATE's will and the six elements that had formed to replace them in this World, they sensed their ancient enemy's weakness and they reached out to each other. 

::_The time?_:: 

::_Not yet here._:: 

::_We must act. Attack?_:: 

::_That one's proto-self stands at its side and its power is doubled in the doing._:: 

::_They are distracted. Busy with their tiny little plans, they forget us. Destroy them!_:: 

::_Nay. Too little time remains. Seek another. Seek one to be our tool._:: 

Six minds flowed through the eddies and currents of the world, searching for aid among their own kind and finding none. None of dragon blood still walked. None of dragon blood still lived. It was intolerable and it had to be avenged. 

::_Look. That one. She carries power._:: 

::_She is close to that one. Too close. It will defend her._:: 

::_No, wait. She lives twice in this time. See?_:: An image formed in their minds of a small human girl playing on the beach. In one hand she clutched a jewel, a human artifact whose power she did not understand, even though it was now and empty shell. 

::_If we interfere too obviously that one will notice._:: 

::_Then take a piece of her. She is a copy herself. Let another copy be taken to be reared with _our_ power, in a place outside of place. Thus she will become our tool against her other Self, against that one and against Her._:: 

::_Yes. It is agreed._:: 

Six minds reached out. Six minds grasped the child for just a moment. Just long enough to take a part of her and make it theirs. Lucca never knew what had happened, for she assumed her little 'sister' had simply worn herself out playing on the beach and curled up to sleep for a bit. As for Kid, a two year old's memory is a marvelously lacking in focus and she never really remembered the incident when she was old enough to mention it. 

*** 

FATE felt the change as soon as she came back on-line. Her connection to the Flame was broken, her control over it shattered. "NOOOOOO" she screamed, struggling to reach the thing at her center, struggling to re-establish her mastery and failing. Someone, somehow, had managed to transfer the power of Arbiter to a human host once more. "WHO HAS DONE THIS THING?" 

Somewhere in the depths of her physical self she sensed humans. Two, no, three human males. A female of a species long since vanished, or rather absorbed, into humanity. Along with that her sensors showed the Flame itself and – strangely enough – something that echoed with the Flame and seemed terribly familiar. _Him? How did he get to this time? Once more he interferes!_

Reaching out with what powers were left her, FATE commanded her machines to capture all within the Flame's chamber. As the metallic tentacles stretched out, capturing the two humans, she saw her enemy raise ruby bright eyes towards one of her cameras. She knew those eyes too well and suddenly knew whom he was, whom he had been before. _Janus But how?_ She could feel the time energy focusing around him and heard the Flame talking urgently and rapidly in a low voice. "HURRY!" it shouted, as _he_ disappeared into the timestream, carrying two small children in his arms. 

FATE's roar of impotent fury echoed throughout the Sea of Eden and - somewhere in Frozen Time – three small children cocked their heads and smiled at each other to the sonorous ringing of Nadia's Bell. 

*** 

1010 A.D.   
The sound of shouting filled the air. Swords and shields clashed against each other. Every so often another sound, a sharp retort, echoed over the other noises. The smell of smoke and flame and blood was thick. To Glenn, stepping from the silence of the End Of Time onto the soil of Guardia, it was a shock of terrible familiarity that – for a moment – thrust his thoughts back to another place and time. To battles and war and death. His hand went to his sword. 

"What the hell is going on?" Janus asked. "This isn't supposed to be happening." His voice sent another memory through Glenn's mind. Standing high on a cliff-side while his friend died. Being transformed. "Glenn? What is it?" 

Taking a deep breath, Glenn forced the memory back. Yes, as the Magus, Janus had been his enemy. As the Magus he'd done some terrible things. There could be no denying the harm Magus had caused in his effort to avenge himself on Lavos. Yet despite all this, the mage turned Flame was his friend now and needed him. "My apologies, Janus. Twas an unhappy memory brought back to me. As for what is happening, we must go and see. 

Hurrying through the trees, Glenn stepped out onto a battlefield. In the evening darkness, lit only by fires and half-obscured by smoke, it was almost impossible to see who was fighting whom. Still, he recognized the landscape, an area just south of Guardia castle. 

A man in dark blue armor stumbled towards Glenn, holding a weapon similar to the one the knight recalled Lucca carrying. The sound of something splitting the air caused the knight to dive sideways, even as a flare of energy from Janus stopped the bullet flying at him. "My thanks," Glenn muttered, rushing the soldier and striking him on the jaw. "This armor is strange, not like that the people of Guardia wore in this time," he added. "But doth not the sigil on his shoulder resemble that of Porre?" 

"Yeah," Janus agreed. "But Porre wasn't a military power. It has _never_ been a military power." 

"Aye," Glenn murmured, "Yet that wast in a time that we knew. There hath been other mysterious changes, hath there not?" He glanced upwards significantly at the second moon that hovered in the evening sky, its bloody surface fitting companion to the scene below. "And what of our friends? This war can bode no good for them" He paused, remembering what Janus had told him he'd done with Schala's copied self. "and for" 

"KID!" Before Glenn could say another word he found himself whisked off, this time not through time, but carried up into the air to fly rapidly towards a small island to their south. Glenn swallowed and hissed a curse, partially in response to the height but more because of what he saw below him. He'd visited Lucca's homes once or twice during their travels together and even from the air he recognized it. Recognized it and despaired, because it was burning out of control. 

*** 

Janus would have screamed his utter fury, would have thrown a tantrum more destructively devastating than any he had ever thrown in his human life, had it not been for Glenn's calming voice. "Quickly, get me down there. Someone may be alive inside." 

Dropping downwards rapidly, Janus could only gasp, "I should have come here in an earlier time. I should have taken Lucca and Kid and the others to a safer place" 

Glenn's answer was fierce. "Is there any time that is _safe_?" he demanded as his feet touched ground and he raced up the pathway to the front door, bursting it open with a kick from a heavily booted foot. The room beyond was ablaze and – at its center – was the cause. Standing a good three times the height of a man, the size of a large tank, its body burned red hot. Throwing balls of fire through the room, it stood over the broken and melted body of Lucca's largest robot. 

Janus wrapped power around his companion, protecting him as much as possible from the flames that licked at him through the doorway. "There," he gasped, noticing a small child quivering under the table. Above, on the balcony, he saw another dodging a second monster. "Hurry!" 

Sword flashing, Glenn called on his magic, water turning to steam as it struck the fiery creature. Janus used his own water magics as well, though he was forced to concentrate most of his power on keeping Glenn from getting burned. 

As the creature fell, the child under the table jumped out and grasped Glenn's arm. "There are others!" he gasped, emerald eyes gazing up pleadingly at the knight. "Please, can you help them?" 

"I wilt try," Glenn agreed. "Now, get thee hence." 

"Wait!" Janus interrupted. "Boy... Eike, right?" 

Eyes wide at being addressed by a necklace, the boy nodded. Janus continued. "Where is Lucca and Kid?" 

"Big sis? She went to the castle for a visit Kid She's in bed." 

"Right. Get out then," Janus shifted his energies and put a shield around the boy to keep the fires at the door from burning him. "NOW!" 

As the child ran out into the night, Glenn turned and rushed further into the burning building. 

To Be Continued 

Author's Notes: An oddly familiar sequence for players of Cross, but at least it gives Glenn a chance to be the hero for a bit.


	11. That Which the Sea has Given

The Fire When it Comes – Chapter 11: That which the Sea has Given – In which time is split and Glenn meets the cause.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft.

* * *

Monster after monster had fallen and child after child had been rescued, but none of them – as yet – had been Kid. Glenn knew he had to hurry, could feel Janus' urgency and building rage. Along with that rage, however, was growing weariness. The Flame was powerful, there was no doubt about that, but there was only so much it could handle. Between shielding the escaping children, protecting Glenn and adding his strength to the knight's attacks, Janus was spreading his Self pretty damned thin. 

"Got to hurry" Janus' voice was desperately weak. "Find Kid, Glenn. Without her all this meaningless." 

Glenn nodded, glancing around Lucca's bedroom. It was a wreck – and not the kind of wreck that a rather forgetful and neglectful housekeeper/mad scientist would leave. No, this was the wreck of a room that has been thoroughly and systematically searched. There was a purpose to this whole thing, he thought, a purpose that had Lucca and her research as its primary aim. "As soon as I find that ice gun Reiken mentioned," he answered, even as his eyes fell on a pistol locked in a case on the wall. "Thou'rt getting tired, Janus. I need something to help deal with these flames." 

"Whatever! Grab it and go!" 

A minute later Glenn was rushing down the hallway into the dormitory attached to the main house. One more creature stood in his path and he could feel Janus' gasp of exhaustion as he struggled to block the thing's flames. Even so, the heat seared Glenn's arm as the knight raised the ice gun and fired. 

There was an explosive sound, a hissing crackling scream, then the monster fell, shattering into thousands of frost rimed pieces. Glenn ignored it, hurrying on into the play room and past, to the children's bedroom. 

This room wasn't burning as badly as the others, though the small beds were beginning to smolder. At the center was a child, blonde and pretty, or she would have been but for the look of sheer hatred on her face as she glared down her home's destroyers, a knife in her hand.

Two stood at the window, turning to face Glenn as he broke through the final door. One was a girl, dressed in motley, with her childish face covered in white paint. The other was dressed equally strangely, a long black coat with gold embroidery and an angular cap on his inhuman head. The face of an animal, a large cat with huge golden eyes, gazed at Glenn. "Harle," he said, "Get rid of them. It is the woman we need, not some human fool with no power but a sword." 

"It weel be ze pleazure," the girl said sweetly and Glenn could feel her gathering power together. 

"JANUS!" Glenn gasped, sure that his friend was exhausted and beyond any hope of assisting, but a strange sound began in his ear. A shifting susurration that almost had meaning. He leaped forward, arms tightening around the girl he knew had to be Kid, even as that murmuring whisper twisted reality around him. 

"Meester Lynx! HELP ME!" The warping twist to reality reached out to grasp Harle, throwing her to the ground. Another shift and the clownishly garbed girl was gone, with a wail that was cut short mid cry as she was twisted and shattered into nothingness. 

For a moment golden eyes met Glenn. Then the beast man growled a curse under his breath and threw himself out the window, disappearing into the night beyond. 

*** 

Kid sobbed in the arms of her rescuer, clutching the blonde man's shirt and soaking it with tears. "My brothers and sisters Everyone" 

A gentle hand brushed Kid's face as the man set her down under a tree outside her burning home. "They art well. I believe we rescued them all." 

"But big Sis That man said" 

"Wilt do what we can, little one. Yet first we must get thee and the others to some safer place" 

Kid raised her face, studying the kind features. "They're safe?" 

"Aye," the stranger agreed and opened his mouth to say more, only to be interrupted by a huge blast somewhere to their north. He rose to his feet and the two stared off at a blazing glow where Guardia Castle had once stood. Usually one could see the castle's turrets rising above trees but there was nothing but that horrible white glow. Another blast, this one off to the north-east followed and Kid screamed. 

Strong arms drew Kid close and the stranger stroked her hair. "We can do naught, I fear," he whispered, voice torn and agonized. 

Kid clutched at the stranger. "Lucca. Lucca was at the castle. She's dead isn't she?" At the blonde's silence, she stared up into his face. "Please you'll stay with us? Take care of us?" 

"Aye. Wilt do all within my power to guard thee," the man said, somehow managing to smile gently at her. Kid felt a surge of relief at the thought. She leaned her head on the stranger's shoulder and began to cry in earnest. 

"Come now, do not weep." The man stroked her cheek again and, strangely, she thought she felt another hand in her hair, though none was there to touch her so. "Thy sister ist strong. None shalt take Lucca Ashtear down so easily as all that." 

"You know her?" Kid demanded, staring up at the man. "That's what she always says!" 

"Aye. Wert a comrade of hers, once upon a time, though my form wast much different from this." 

"Frog? You talk like she said Frog did. Are _you_ Frog?" She reached out and touched his sword. "The Masamune?" 

Another voice, hated and cruel, spoke – no, purred – then. "No, my dear. The Masamune is here." 

Kid turned and saw that the cat-man had found reinforcements. Porre soldiers stood behind him, their rifles aimed at the two, while Lynx stood with a long black sword in his hands. Waves of hatred and anger flowed from that blade. "oh no" Kid gasped, terrified and furious all at once. Stunned and terrified, for the moment all she could do was stare. 

The man who had once been Frog rose to his feet, sword in hand. Putting his other hand on the girl's shoulder he glared at the cat-man silently. 

"Your toy destroyed Harle easily enough, but I think you will find me a more difficult proposition." Lynx moved like his namesake, prowling closer and closer with a sneer. "You have something I want, human. Something that has been denied my mistress for too long. I know not how you came by the Frozen Flame but I will have it from you." 

Kid didn't know what Lynx was talking about, but she did know he meant to kill them. She tightened her hand on her knife and, as the cat-man started to cast a spell, she rushed him. 

The sound of a gunshot filled the air, a moment of pain quickly fading, then a surge of another sound that surrounded and protected her. She felt herself falling, slowly, ever so slowly, until she found herself landing on a sunlit beach. Staring at a clear and brilliant sky, she heard the sounds of frantic splashing and a child's frightened cries. 

*** 

Lynx stared for a moment at the empty space where the brat of Lucca's had been. The bullets had struck her, he was sure of it, yet instead of falling her body had faded into nothingness before his eyes. His opponent, the leanly muscular blonde who'd somehow gained access to a younger and more powerful Flame, was staring at the spot as well. 

Without hesitation, Lynx took advantage of the stranger's apparent shock, rushing the blonde, the Masamune singing death and hatred in his ears. Somehow, though, the movement wasn't fast enough. The blonde might have been surprised by the brat's disappearance but it hadn't stunned him to the point of utter stupor. His sword, strangely similar in shape and style to the Masamune, swung upwards. 

The two men glared into each other's eyes for a long moment, gold eyes meeting eyes so intensely blue they seemed to look straight into Lynx's soul. For a moment something inside the cat-man felt a sense of recognition. Other eyes had looked at him that way, once upon a time. Eyes that he'd given up all to protect. Then the moment shattered as the human stepped forwards, sword sweeping around in a single smooth circle that somehow twisted the Masamune right out of Lynx's hands. 

As the sword flew through the air, the human grasped Lynx by the collar and twisted him around, shoving him towards the Porre shoulders. "JANUS!" the stranger shouted, "GET US OUT OF HERE!" 

Before Lynx could recover and stand upright again, the stranger – like the girl before him – had disappeared. He glared around the clearing, eyes furious, daring his human allies to say a word. Then, silently, he picked up the Masamune and turned. "Never mind them," he said. "The woman we wanted was at the castle. With that destroyed, our secondary mission is over." 

*** 

END OF TIME:   
"Uh Janus? Where didst Kid go?" 

"Wait" Janus sighed. He was tired, so very tired. It wasn't that he'd really used up all that much strength, but that he'd used it for so many different things. To exist in this world without shattering the time stream had meant binding his power to a solid form, had meant putting limits on how much he could do at once. _Strange, though, I feel as if that wasn't all Something else was happening just then. _

Realizing Glenn was patiently waiting for his answer, Janus forced himself to speak. "I don't know," he told the knight. "We'll have to look in the timestream." 

"What happened?" Gaspar asked, coming over to where Glenn stood and peering at Janus. "Whatever it was, it was impressive. I've never seen time twist like that before. You're going to have to see it to believe it." 

"Guardia ist gone," Glenn said tiredly. "And Kid hath disappeared." As he told the story, Janus took the moment to finish recovering himself. His rage at what had happened wasn't helping. He wanted hands and he wanted those hands around that bastard cat-man's neck. The surprise in the demi-human's eyes when Glenn had disarmed him so easily had been satisfying, but not as satisfying as personally using the creature's guts for violin strings. "I didn't want to waste time with him – whomever he was – so I told Janus to get us out of there." 

"He's FATE's tool," Janus said grimly. "She's lost control of the rest of humanity through the Flame she once commanded, so she found a human to command. He must be looking for a way to break what we did with that boy." 

"T'was most strange," Glenn said musingly, walking towards the stairs, Gaspar close behind. "He seemed – for the barest moment – to know me and to hesitate because of it. Yet I wouldst swear he wast not one of those on the island of Marbule, nor that I had e'er met him before." 

Janus made the equivalent of a shrug. "Hell if I know," he admitted. "Let's worry about him after we find Kid." 

*** 

Glenn leaned against the railing surrounding the room and watched the Flame hover around the image of the timestream at its center, rising and falling slowly, but with increasing speed as time went on. When Janus began to curse with an unsurprising eloquence, he knew the search had failed. Yet, "She canst not hath fallen out of time altogether" 

"I'm _sure_ she hasn't," Janus growled. "I just realized why I can't find her." His curses continued as he floated back over to the knight. "I can see little ripples where she's _been_ but not where she is. And it's my own damned fault!" 

"Eh?" Glenn blinked down at the necklace around his neck. "What dost thou mean?" 

"Remember I said I gave her a protective device? It's what took her away when she got shot. It uses the death event as a trigger that carries her backwards and sideways to safety. Backwards in time, sideways in space to a safer spot. It also protects her from being found. She's invisible to any search I might do, as long as she wears that necklace." 

"So even you can't find her," Glenn realized, "Perhaps if we followed the ripples you speak of." 

"Possibly," Janus considered the matter. "It's worth a try." He sighed. "Though it may take several tries. Those ripples are tiny and hard to track." 

"Before you do," Gaspar interrupted, deferentially, "I'd like you to tell me what you make of that" He walked over to the image of the time stream and pointed to an area that seemed to swirl strangely around. "You see? There are two branches here. They seem to rejoin later on, but the break is distinct, as distinct as the point where the timestream breaks off between the reptite and human world." He indicated the far past. 

Glenn looked at newly broken area and had to agree. Its resemblance to the break back in Azala and Ayla's time was striking. "Janus?" 

"It's a major incident," Janus sighed. "The time stream ought to be full of them. That it isn't is simply because it's been pulled together so tightly that hello, now that really _is_ odd." 

Glenn waited for a moment while Janus headed for the image again and examined it minutely. "There's something about this spot. Something familiar" His flames curled in on themselves pensively. "I have to think about this. Maybe." 

"What is it?" 

"I think I may have found a way to save our friends," Janus said softly. "But I need time to work it out. In the meantime, we have to make sure Kid is all right." He made a disgusted noise, glaring at the many tiny disturbances Kid had left behind her. "There are so many. What is that girl thinking of, getting herself killed so often?" 

*** 

1010 A.D. Home World:   
FATE considered Lynx's report on the last moments of Castle Guardia, trying to determine what exactly had happened and why. Everything seemed to have gone the way she'd planned it, despite her lack of contact with the Flame. She might not be able to control humanity the way she once could, but her knowledge of what made people tick was enough to manipulate it towards her ends thru the former human's lies and persuasions. Her planned battle between Porre and Zenan had had to wait. Some other force was playing with time, attempting to twist it to their ends and she feared those three had something to do with it. Too, she'd thought she might be able to use the Ashtear girl. Lucca might know what it was that prevented her from harming humanity. Know and be able to disable it. 

That last had turned out to be impossible to fulfill. The girl hadn't been at her stupid little orphanage and questioning the children there had revealed she'd been called to Guardia Castle not long before the Porre army had arrived. Lynx had set fire to the place, expecting that to draw the Ashtear girl out, but instead a stranger had arrived. A stranger who had been accompanied by that younger Frozen Flame that FATE had felt being birthed on Zenan. She had the oddest feeling she ought to know who that stranger was. That there was a memory missing from her databanks. _But that's impossible. My system is perfect. _

Setting that thought aside, FATE continued examining the report. Lynx's thoughts seemed strained. Something had happened in his meeting with that stranger, something that had tested the bonds she held over him. Still, he'd done his duty and made sure that Guardia and all its people were destroyed. 

_And why am I disturbed by this, none the less? Admittedly, those three fools had allies, and apparently that young Flame does as well, but it comes to me in the end._ Once more she looked at the images Lynx's mind had sent her, craters that had once been a castle and a town, blown up by Porre's new weaponry, weaponry that – ironically – had been based on weapons invented by Lucca Ashtear herself. All that was left were the few charred and shattered bodies of those few soldiers who'd resisted. _Ahhh. That's it. Why so few bodies? Guardia was not so ill-defended as all that, surely?_

::_Sister-Self Hear me_:: 

The thought that impinged on FATE's consciousness both was and was not her own. "What?" 

::_I am freed. My power over the Flame is once more mine alone. All that remains would be the destruction of the lock._:: Images formed in her mind, a moment when time had been forced to branch, to form another world. One life had hung in the balance and in that other world the balance had not been in his favor. In that world, at least, the Arbiter was dead. ::_Aid me in this and we shall be rejoined and our mastery over all will be as it was always meant to be._:: 

FATE smiled in joyful anticipation. ::_Lynx, my pet, I have work for you._:: 

*** 

1019 A.D. Another World:   
Harle dropped down through the hole in the universe, grumbling under her breath. "Zat brat. She was a great trouble." Her memories of the last few moments were confused. She and Master Lynx awaiting Lucca Ashtear's hurried return to her home. The seemingly harmless girl whose necklace Harle had taken a liking to suddenly turning out to have fangs. She frowned, feeling again the blade burying itself in her eye. Hearing the little girl scream as Lynx ran her through, just before Harle had fallen and should have died as well.

Looking at the brat's necklace in her hand, Harle realized it was the cause of her salvation. Somehow it had rewound time for her and transported her to a place of safety. By some quirk, or perhaps by natural magnetism, she was back in the world where she'd grown up. _Zo, to tell zee truth, moi would heseetate to call that place a world._ Things that didn't quite fit into reality in more could get lost there, swirling around in a tiny little whirlpool of non-existence where one had to work to keep a sense of identity. Still, it had been easy enough to leave, since she knew the right path. 

Landing in the center of a swamp again didn't make Harle any happier. If anything, it made her sour mood all the worse. "Stupeed girl. Stupeed Flame. Une day I take zat zilly zing and I blow eet out myself!" Stalking through the swamp, she wondered if she could convince FATE to do something unpleasant to the wretched place. After all, who would miss something so pathetic? 

At last the girl left the dank, smelly and disgusting place behind. A trip up to the Dragon Falls was in order. After all, she had a report to make and it was easiest to mind contact her _true_ masters at the Shrine where their power had once been supreme. Besides, it had been at the Shrine where she'd met Lynx for the first time and she rather suspected it would be the first place the big mad cat-man would look for her. There, where he had first found the Masamune and claimed it for his own. 

*** 

1010 A.D. Home World:   
Glenn stepped out onto a beach and glanced around. "So where is this?" he asked. 

Janus focused his thoughts and formed a map of the area in his friend's mind. "I don't know the name of the place," he told the knight. "You'll have to ask around." 

A few minutes later they were entering a small, pretty, fishing village that, to Janus' surprise, turned out to be the same one where he'd left that boy some years before. _Arni,_ he thought to himself and wondered if it was a coincidence. 

While only half-listening to Glenn ask about Kid, Janus scanned the area, trying to find the child who would one day be the only thing blocking FATE from using him. ::_There he is._:: 

::_Eh? What art thou talking about?_:: Glenn thought back at him and Janus realized that he'd thought the words louder than he'd intended. ::_He?_:: 

::_Remember what I told you about my visit to the Flame? That boy, the one with black hair. That's him._:: Janus indicated the child, a leggy child with a thick mop of black hair and a strangely innocent air about him. For a moment blue eyes turned to the stranger with curiosity, but the red-haired girl he was romping with distracted him, dragging him off towards the docks. 

::_Strange. He doth not have the look of the others. There ist something northern about his appearance._:: Glenn shrugged. ::_Well, tis no great matter in any case. Shalt I speak with him?_:: 

::_Let's keep looking for Kid, first. That boy's just a child right now. Even if he turns out to be important later on, he's not going to be any use to us right now._:: 

*** 

Glenn had to wonder why that boy's presence seemed to disturb – or was it excite? – his companion. Strangely, he too felt something odd when watching the boy. Something felt familiar about him. As if he ought to have known the child. _Which is ridiculous._

Shaking off the thought, Glenn started asking questions. Within minutes he learned that a little blonde girl _had_ passed through the village some weeks earlier, after having rescued one of the village children from a near drowning on Opassa Beach. Directed to the boy's mother on the docks, he was surprised to find her busily scolding and drying off the very boy Janus had noticed. 

"Serge, you are such a little hooligan. Didn't I tell you it was almost suppertime?" The boy nodded, big blue eyes wide, and his mother continued, "Then what are you doing swimming, especially fully dressed?" 

Big blue eyes blinked and the boy rubbed at the back of his head embarrassedly. Somehow Glenn was reminded of certain childish escapades, especially when the child said sorrowfully, "Didn't MEAN to!" 

"Auntie Marge! It's _my_ fault. I pushed Serge." It was the red-headed girl, her expression not much less embarrassed than the boy's. 

The boy's mother started to say something, only to stop when she noticed Glenn standing there, obviously waiting to talk with her. When her eyes met Glenn's, her expression shifted, becoming strangely wary. Standing, she turned her son towards the village and gave him a little nudge. "Both of you go on. I'll be along in a moment." 

As the two children ran off, Marge looked at Glenn with a worried expression. "Sir? You seem to wish to speak with me." Her shoulders were stiff and there was something about the way she stood that suggested she was expecting some unwelcome news. 

"Yes, I hath some questions I must ask of thee. The others said ye might know." 

"We found him on the beach. He was just a baby! How dare you wait seven YEARS to look for him?" The angry outburst was accompanied by a tightening of Marge's fists as she stepped towards the young knight. 

Glenn stared at the woman. "Er what?" 

"Serge! You abandon a child to the ocean, then" Marge blinked. "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?" Her expression turned embarrassed. "Oh dear. It was your eyes. I thought you were the boy's father, come to take him from me." She bit her lip. "He's all I have left. My gift from the sea I lost my husband some years ago." 

Reaching out to touch the woman's shoulder sympathetically, Glenn smiled ruefully. "Ma'am, I swear to thee, I hath not come for that child, but seeking another I have lost. You met her a few days ago. A blonde girl wearing a bluestone necklace?" 

The woman's eyes went sad. "I tried to get her to stay. She was so young. So vulnerable. But she ran off in the middle of the night and though we tried to find her, I'm afraid" Her eyes met Glenn's with look of sympathy. "I'm afraid she was killed passing through Dragon Valley to Termina. We found traces of blood, but nothing else." 

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes: Before anyone starts worrying that it was Serge that rescued Kid from the fire, don't forget that the MasterMune was guiding him through Kid's memories, not necessarily the physical event.

Oh, and Skahducky, nice guesses, but I'm afraid you'll have to try again. Lynx is Wazuki and no one else. Oh, and I did forget to answer your question from Chapter 9. Yes, that's how the Elemental powers came to the people of ChronoCross.

(rubs hands together in anticipation as the plot begins to move.) I am having so much fun with this! Next part in another couple of days! 


	12. Hide & Seek

The Fire When it Comes - Part 12: Hide & Seek: In which Kid does some jumping and Glenn and Janus some searching.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

1012 A.D. Home World:   
Kid clenched her fists in a state of red-hot fury. It'd taken her weeks to find her way north. Weeks of evading adult supervision and dodging Porre soldiers. Weeks of bad food and nightmares. Weeks of those strange jumps that had taken her out of danger and – apparently – out of her proper time. Those weeks had turned – without her quite knowing how – into two whole years lost from her life. The jumps were doing something to her. She felt older, both in body and in mind. Still, at long last she'd made it home, only to find there was no home to return to. 

Gazing at the burnt out shell that had once been Lucca's house, Kid felt tears pouring down her cheeks. Her memory was so confused, but one image stood clear. Lynx, that horrible demi-human, and his nasty little clown. He'd been threatening Lucca and he must have succeeded in capturing her, or worse. She sat on the ground and began to bawl in earnest, a child whose heart – in those few short weeks – had aged sixty years. 

"Sis?" A boy's voice drew Kid's attention, made her stop crying long enough to look up. "Sis?" It was Eike, a strangely older Eike. The blonde blinked at her and suddenly the two were holding onto each other. 

Stepping back, Eike smiled wanly at Kid. "We've been worried about you," he said, "Come on, we've been sheltering in the cave." 

*** 

Eike watched his little 'sister' gobble her soup and bread as if she hadn't eaten in weeks. From her story it sounded like she hadn't. He wondered what had happened, how she'd been carried so far away. There was so much he didn't understand. She didn't look the same. Somehow those jumps she'd taken had aged her. Her eyes showed the change best, a searing, aching emptiness that said that nothing would ever be the same. 

"Now you have to tell me what happened," Kid said, looking at Eike with those terrible sad eyes. "Everything." 

"There's not much to tell. That man saved us from the fire, but he disappeared when he fought Lynx off." Eike was surprised to see a frown of non-comprehension on his sister's face. "Don't you remember? We were watching from the bushes He got you out and Lynx found you. When you were shot and disappeared." 

"I don't remember any of this," Kid broke in. "My memory gets confused when I jump." She touched her necklace, the one that Eike remembered she'd been given so many years ago. "What man?" 

"He never told us his name. He had a weird necklace. Same stone as yours, but shaped different." Eike shuddered at the memory. The voice from that stone had been terrifying. "It talked to me. It it was pretty scary, but I think it's why we all got out and why the soldiers didn't find us. Something was protecting us, that night, that much I'm sure of." 

Kid's frown of puzzlement continued, but she gestured, "Okay, go on." 

"After we got out, you and that man came out. There were some explosions and that's when Lynx showed up with some soldiers." Eike described the scene, the memory deeply scarred on his mind. The flames of their burning home, the explosions that had wiped out both the castle and the town. The men firing on Kid when she'd attacked their leader. Her disappearance and the stranger's soon after. "We thought maybe they went to look for you, but when you never came back" Eike's voice broke. "Sis, everyone else is gone. Everyone and everything. We found a few bodies and buried them, but It's like Guardia never existed." 

Kid was silent for so long that Eike was sure the news had been too much, far too much for her to take after everything else. Then she looked at Eike with those clear, cold, blue eyes. "Guardia isn't gone as long as we're alive. Porre will pay for what it's done." 

*** 

1019 A.D. Another World:   
Glenn took a deep breath and waited for the dizziness to pass. All this time travel was beginning to get to him. He was, in fact, beginning to share Janus' opinion that Kid was deliberately making life hard on them. "We seemeth always to be one step behind her," he muttered in an annoyed voice. "If only we couldst make the jump a bit earlier." 

"What _I'd_ like to know is how she managed to get from one time line to the other," Janus replied, equally irate. "Blast it, jumping into this line is bloody dangerous! FATE is in control here and it's about all I can do to keep her from grabbing me." 

"She knoweth that ye art here?" 

"I'm blocking her. She can see me in either line if I'm not careful, but it doesn't matter so much in the one where Serge survived. Here, on the other hand. Still, if I'm blocking her, there's not much I can do to protect you or Kid," Janus replied grimly. "And from the looks of this place you _need_ protection." 

Glancing around, Glenn had to agree. There were some terrible creatures wandering around this highly unpleasant looking cavern. "I wilt manage. We dost not wish her minions here to capture thee." 

"Then hurry," Janus growled. "The sooner we find Kid, the better." 

As Glenn made his way through the cavern, sometimes forced to do battle, sometimes not, and – once – aided by Janus' will on a doorway that had seemed mere mirror to him, he reflected that Kid was apparently as trouble and danger prone as her brother had been in his human life. Following the trail of her time jumps, Glenn had noticed a growing pattern. The early ones, prior to her reaching Guardia could have been simply accidents, a small child's inability to avoid the natural dangers of the world. 

Not long afterwards, though, their nature changed. Always in Porre, always somewhere near a bit of banditry by a group calling themselves the Radical Dreamers. It hadn't been long before Glenn and Janus had realized Kid was _leading_ the Dreamers. The jumps had been growing further apart, too, as the girl became better at whatever madness she was attempting. The last one, set a year prior to now, had been the most impressive, taking out an entire military facility. _She really is Janus' sister. Crazy, vengeful and ready to throw herself and those with her into the bleakest danger to achieve her goal._

"I _heard _that," Janus grumbled. "You're thinking too loudly." 

"Canst thou claim my thoughts false?" Glenn demanded, grinning a bit, especially when he got a sense of sharp embarrassment from his companion. "Ne'er mind that. I hear voices." 

Pausing at the mouth of a cave that led outside, Glenn listened. "Too long have you dogged my footsteps, little humans. Now we end this." The voice was Lynx's, and Glenn tightened his fist on his sword. 

"Couldn't happen soon enuf fer me, yah bastahd," the young voice was female, but rough and angry in its tone. "All o'us, we're ready t'die t'take yah out!" 

"Eet weel not be so easy, leetle beetch. Vous ees strong, but vous are not zee match for Master Lynx. Vous are most especially not zee match for Master Lynx _and_ moi." 

Glenn blinked. ::_Janus, didn't you kill her?_:: 

::_There are two timelines now. Apparently in this one we didn't._:: Janus sounded worried. ::_Indeed, I begin to wonder if it was because we didn't that the boy died, creating this line._:: 

The sound of fighting reminded Glenn that this wasn't the time to work out the ins and outs of the last few weeks. He slid out slowly and quietly and eyed the scene. A narrow promontory angled upwards and at its end were four youngsters facing off two others, magic and weaponry flashing as the two groups attacked and dodged. Lynx and Harle might be outnumbered, but they were hardly outmatched. Their black magic was exhausting their enemies, the children were beginning to falter. 

Slowly Glenn moved forward, trying to work out a way to end the fight in Kid's favor. The girl was doing her best, fire magic blasting out at Lynx with unrelenting force. One compact blonde youth was firing a pistol and – as Glenn moved closer – used it to shoot thunder into Harle. 

::_Hello._:: Janus muttered. ::_That clown girl she has Kid's necklace, but so does Kid._:: 

Glenn spotted the stone in question hanging from a triangle of cloth attached around Harle's neck and had to agree it looked the same. However, ::_Ne'er mind that,_:: Glenn answered as he drew closer. ::_We have to help those children._:: He rushed forward, yelling Lynx's name and interrupting the cat-man before he could set off another blaze of magic. 

"What th. Who are you?" 

It occurred to Glenn that this Lynx had no idea who he was. Not that it mattered, the cat-man was a danger to these children and to the girl he'd sworn to protect. He would have to be stopped. 

Swords clashed and sparked. The hatred and rage within the Masamune was palpable and agonizing to feel. Had Doreen not taken its place at Glenn's side he was sure he would have been overwhelmed. He could feel her struggling to reach into the other sword, to reawaken her brothers' true selves. While the Masamune was in Lynx's hands, though, the effort was useless. His nature was blocking her, encouraging the darkness within the blade. 

The two men swung and blocked, sliced and dodged, all magic forgotten in the anger of the moment. Lynx was a brilliant swordsman, Glenn could see that. Brilliant, powerful and dangerous. In the end, though, there could only be one winner and one loser. A failed block provided the opening, as Lynx's blade sliced into Glenn's chest. Lynx's smile of satisfaction, however, was quickly lost as Glenn wrapped his left arm around the cat-man's sword arm holding the demi-human still just long enough to drive his sword into Lynx's heart. 

*** 

"GLENN!" Janus dropped the shield guarding him against FATE and wrapped his magics around the knight. "Don't you DARE die on me!" 

Glenn's pained chuckle was weak. "Thy words art familiar," he whispered. "Mayhap I said much the same to thee, not terribly long ago? Waste not thy energy on me, when the danger to thyself is so great." 

Before Janus could snap back, one of the youngsters was kneeling beside Glenn. "I can help," he said, "I'm training to be a doctor." As Janus worked healing spells on the internal damage, the shaggy haired blonde began wiping blood from the wound, hands shaking as he worked. 

"Hurry," Glenn muttered. "Or this fool that calls himself my friend wilt be discovered by our enemies." 

"Dude, I'm going as fast as I can." 

Janus focused on the healing, pushing his magics as fast as he dared. He was _not_ going to lose the knight, not after they'd been through so much. With relief, he felt the damaged lung tissue beginning to heal, even as the boy – more a young man, really – finished sealing the external damage with his own spells. 

::_AT LAST! I HAVE FOUND._:: Janus felt the voice in his mind, the roar of triumph from that hated thing that squatted not far to their south. She was sending her minions out for them and though he'd restored the shield, there was no way to keep her from 'seeing' where he was now. They'd have to get out quickly to avoid capture. He was about to say as much when the scream of raw grief and fury forced him to 'look' upwards. 

Harle had been kneeling beside her companion and apparently trying to save his life. The effort had been useless, though, for Glenn's blade had struck home with unerring aim. Now she was standing and aiming a spell their way. Only one thing stopped her. A small, red-garbed shaped rushed forwards and tackled the girl, throwing them both over the side of the cliff. There was a scream, sharply cut off, and he felt a dual surge of time energy as both girls were carried away by their necklaces. 

"Kid!" One of the girl's companions rushed to the edge, even as Glenn managed to lever his newly healed body into an upright position. The boy, the one with the gun, turned back and shook his head tiredly. "She's gone. Again. The other one is too." 

"Blast," muttered the other boy. "I wish she'd cut that out!" 

"We'll just have to wait until she finds us, dudes," the young healer answered. 

If Janus could have raised a brow, he would have. Then understanding hit. These boys must have become accustomed to Kid's disappearances. Must have been taking them into account. No wonder she'd kept putting herself in danger. She'd been counting on her necklace to protect her. _Damn it, sister, I didn't give you that thing so you could play jack in the box with time!_ He sighed. He should have known she would, though. He'd never known his sister as a small child, but the stories his nurse had told about Schala had made it clear that she'd been something of a hoyden when small. It only stood to reason her clone would be as well, especially when not given any instruction to be otherwise. _And most especially when she's been given ample reason for vengeance. _

"I knoweth about her necklace," Glenn said. "So she seeks ye out after these incidents?" 

Three pairs of suspicious eyes turned on the knight, who stood slowly and kept his hands out where they could be seen. "How do _you_ know about the necklace?" 

"Because," Janus growled, "_I_ gave it to her." 

It was the boy with the pistol whose expression changed to recognition. "You! You're the one who rescued us! Why didn't you come back?" 

"We hath been following Kid's trail thru time for many a day," Glenn answered. "The necklace prevents us from seeking her directly, but there are marks that my companion can sense." 

"Hey! Then can you get us to her?" the tallest and skinniest of the three boys demanded. "Take us with you!" 

"No," Janus said grimly. "Our enemy searches for us even now and we don't know how long it would take for us to find her. I can't carry you three around all over the place – not when I don't know how many more jumps this is going to take." 

"Janus, canst we at least move them to a safer place afore we go? Tis no place for children." 

"Dude, I don't think you should be calling us children," the healer of the group said. "Not after everything we've done." 

"Yeah, we're the strongest there are!" the other boy said, to the oldest boy's obvious disgust. 

"Hah!" Janus muttered, though he appreciated of the young man's bravado, if not his sense. He thought about it, sensing FATE's regard on the area, despite his shield on his Self. "Right. You three are in worse danger than you think. There's only one thing I can do to keep her from knowing you." 

"What?" 

"Take you back in time before She was freed." 

*** 

1018 A.D. Another World:   
Harle found herself landing in the middle of a swamp, her necklace glowing white hot. Her memory was confused, her Self, temporarily lost. All she could do was to roll and find her feet. 

It was strange, her mind felt divided against itself. There was a peculiar duality to her, another mind touching hers. Their purposes were similar, their physical nature nearly identical. For a moment she felt as if she was looking out at two different swamps; one a dying mass of vegetation, failing wildlife, acidic waters and a foul stench of death and decay; the other filled with life, thriving, with crystal clear waters and the natural stench of a swamp in full growth. 

At last the duality faded, leaving behind only a peculiar sadness, as if something had changed inside her. She sighed and began making her way out of the swamp to get her next orders and decide what to do next. 

*** 

1018 A.D. Home World:  
Kid found herself landing in the middle of a swamp, her necklace glowing white hot. Her memory was confused, her Self, temporarily lost. All she could do was to roll and find her feet. 

It was strange, her mind felt divided against itself. There was a peculiar duality to her, another mind touching hers. Their purposes were similar, their physical nature nearly identical. For a moment she felt as if she was looking out at two different swamps; one filled with life, thriving, with crystal clear waters and the natural stench of a swamp in full growth; the other a dying mass of vegetation, failing wildlife, acidic waters and a foul stench of death and decay. 

At last the duality faded, leaving behind only a peculiar sadness, as if something had changed inside her. She sighed and began making her way out of the swamp to find her friends and decide what to do next. 

*** 

1019 A.D. Another World:   
FATE focused her thoughts on the Isle of the Damned. _Shield yourself all you wish, little one. I know you are there._ She urged her minions, robots built for the greatest speed possible, to aim for the Isle. The young Flame had been busy caring for its guardian and her Sight showed that her tool had damaged the human badly before it had been destroyed. It would be close, but she thought her minions would reach them before the human recovered enough to be moved. 

There were other humans as well. The ones her tool had told her of, the brats who called themselves the Radical Dreamers. The ones who seemed to have entered her timeline from that of her Sister-Self's, using technology stolen from the Porre scientists who had been studying a way to move between the timelines. Well enough. She'd avenge Lynx's death on them and have her other Self send _her_ Lynx to help instead. 

Nudging the Flame awake and impressing on it the need for its cooperation, FATE watched her minions approach the isle and guided them towards the narrow promontory where four human figures stood. If it hadn't been for the bonds on her will, she would have ordered their immediate execution, but try though she might, she couldn't convince the controls that these humans posed a threat to Chronopolis' security. Still, nothing prevented the machines from laying down a barrage of sleeping gas, intended to drop the four humans to the ground. 

Smoke rose around the humans and FATE smiled to herself as she heard their startled yells. "Bring them here!" she ordered her own Flame. When nothing happened, her smile faded and she sent surges of power through her connection to the Flame, eliciting screams from the entity within. "I SAID BRING THEM HERE!" 

"I'm trying!" the Flame gasped. "He's fighting me. He's stronger than I am I can't" There was a blaze of red and blue fire around the Flame and, to FATE's amazement and momentary terror, it went dim, moaning softly to itself in the relative darkness. 

As the smoke cleared, FATE saw that her effort had failed. The other Flame was gone. 

*** 

OUTSIDE OF TIME:   
Two minds touched momentarily. ::_It's all up to you Your idea is a good one. Go with it after you find her_:: 

::_Are you going to be all right? I didn't mean to hit back so hard_::: 

::_You're just saying that because you know you'll be on the receiving end some day._:: 

::_And your point is?_:: 

::_Hah. Just good luck It's not going all our way but I think it will I have to believe Get a hold of some hydra humor. You'll need it when you find Kid_:: 

::_Are you _sure_ you'll be all right?_:: 

::_Not really But I plan on it_:: A faint, tired, chuckle. ::_Give my regards to Dad._:: 

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Harle's Necklace: If you look at her outfit in the Strategy Guide (an invaluable tool for this fanfic, as are several of the FAQ over at GameFAQs.) you'll notice a blue pendant hanging off one of the points on her hood. It's not shaped exactly like the stone in Kid's necklace, but we'll figure it wasn't pointed in the right direction when it got drawn. Yeah, that's the ticket. 

The Split: Among the questions I think has plagued players of the game is why there was only one Lynx and one Harle. At least it plagued me. These last few segments are partly intended to work out a possible reason. Just to clarify if need be. The game Lynx is Home World and Harle is Another World. Home World's Harle died at Janus' hands and Another World's Lynx at Glenn's. And there's a reason the split occurred, but you'll have to wait and see what it is. 

The Masamune: Now *there* is a blade that has given me fits and headaches. It showed up at Dragon Falls and it showed up at the Isle of the Damned and there was only one where there ought to have been two *sigh* So, for the purposes of this fic, there _were_ two, but one gets destroyed when the Lynxed out Serge uses the Einlanzer on it and the other was in Lynx's hands. Convoluted? Probably, but so's the story. 

The Radical Dreamers: I'm sure there were more in the group. Since I had those three names already, I decided to use those characters for this segment. Authorial boot to own head, using cute names for characters is okay for walk-ons, a little jarring for characters with more of a part, which it turns out those three boys will have. Oh well.

I've got a rough draft of the rest of the story done (SFX of Kosagi falling over 70 pages of writing in 4 days). I even have a beta-reader now (waves at Skahducky) so I should be printing each of the remaining segments over the course of this next week. Hopefully at a rate of one a day. 

Deborah (Kosagi) Brown 


	13. A Stranger from the Mainland

The Fire When it Comes - Part 13: A Stranger from the Mainland: In which a healer's purpose is renewed.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

1010 A.D.:   
Glenn coughed and moaned as he rolled onto his back and stared up at the sky. Around him he could hear others gasping for air. The boys, he realized. Janus must have managed to get them to safety before FATE could catch them. He put his hand up and touched his necklace, felt the faint, tired, flickering of the entity within it. "Janus?" 

"That's going to leave a mark," the Flame muttered. 

"Art thou hurt?" Glenn asked, sitting up and glancing downwards at the necklace. Even the color of the bluestone seemed oddly washed out. 

A faint chuckle escaped Janus. "Heh. Not yet. My future self, on the other hand, is in a world of pain. Or will have been We're about nine years back from then, just before the split. And I don't think it would be a good idea for us to stay here when it happens." 

"Thy future self" 

"The Flame FATE controlled. She ordered him to grab us and I hit him when he tried." There was a regretful note in Janus' voice. "That's going to hurt a lot when it's my turn to take it on the chin." 

"Sir? Uh what do we call your friend?" The speaker was the oldest of the three boys, the only one, as yet, who'd managed to stand. 

"Don't worry about it, boy," Janus answered. "We're not going to be here long enough for it to matter." 

"Janus, be polite," Glenn chided. "Lad" 

"Eike, sir," the blonde corrected, bowing slightly. "I guess when Kid's not here, I'm the leader." He gestured at his two companions, first the healer, then the other. "That's Toan and that's Reiken." 

Nodding, Glenn looked at the young man and feeling a certain kinship with the green eyed youth. Somehow he thought they had much in common. "Eike. I am Glenn, a knight of another time. I think it likely thy big Sister, Lucca, mentioned me by another name – Frog." 

"We heard you and Kid talking when you were outside –when you saved us from the fire," Eike agreed. "Kid doesn't remember it – that necklace of hers does something to her head when it saves her." 

"Good enough. Then ye understand that ist my duty to protect that child? To save her before she pushes her luck too far?" At Eike's nod, Glenn continued. "My friend hath brought thee to this time because he believes it the safest place for ye. Ist in the past, nine years back. Ye wilt be much older when and if ye see Kid again. Use the time more wisely" 

Janus added, in a tone that brooked no argument, "And stay away from your younger selves. I've got enough crap to deal with without you bunch creating lil'tiny paradoxes all over the place." 

Green eyes blinked at the Flame, wide and scared, as their owner nodded. Glenn continued, sternly. "Also, thy deeds against Porre, while clever and well-meant, may well have caused problems that cannot be easily resolved. Find other ways to seek thy goal" 

Eike looked worried. "I don't think I can convince Reiken of that. Doc I mean Toan he doesn't like the fighting much but Reiken wants to be the strongest." 

"Do thy best. I wouldst not like to think ye died after we hath done so much to save thee." 

"Glenn, enough talk. I feel the split approaching. Say your goodbyes and we'll head after that next ripple. And you, boy, when and if you see Kid before _we_ do, tell her that she'd better stop depending on that necklace of hers to save her. She's been pushing its limits pretty damned hard and I don't know how much more it can take. Or if it can take any more at all." 

Glenn took Eike's hand and shook it gravely. "Be careful, boy." He eyed the other two as they started to stir and sit up. "_All_ of ye, be careful." 

*** 

Eike watched the knight disappear with a sense of regret. There was so much he wanted to ask. So much he'd wanted to understand. Still, he had a feeling Glenn had been right. He hadn't been sure about Kid's methods from the first and now that it would be years before they found Kid he thought this might be the best opportunity available to find out why Porre had attacked Guardia. _And I think I have an idea of how to proceed. _

As his friends got to their feet, Eike began to plan. Toan would be their contact while he and Reiken split up. The two of them would find different ways to infiltrate the Porre military and then – somehow – use the knowledge they discovered to stop the madness from within. 

*** 

1019 A.D. Home World:   
::_Sister-self. I have need of your tool, for mine has been foolish enough to be destroyed by a mere human._:: 

FATE managed to avoid thinking some unpleasant thoughts back at her other Self. After all, without her their freedom would have no chance. Still, it annoyed her to have to give up the only connection she had with her side of the timeline. ::_To what purpose?_:: 

::_I plan a trap for your timeline's Arbiter. A trap that will permit our tool full access to both our existences, to bring about a complete merge. But I must have the Arbiter here, for the transformation must occur in this timeline or the Flame on your side may find a way block our plans. It must not be allowed to know what has happened until it is too late._:: 

Understanding came to FATE. ::_Yet how am I to send Lynx to you? The base that was studying such matters was destroyed, its only device stolen_:: 

::_That same base still exists on this side and has the device needed. I will send another, the girl who once followed my tool, the one who was destroyed in your timeline, with it to bring your tool to me. Then I will show you what must be done to send the Arbiter into this world._:: 

*** 

1020 A.D. Another World:   
"Guldove," Glenn murmured. 

Janus sent a wordless query to his friend as they stepped onto the wooden deck of a floating village, curious to know how he knew the place. 

::_Oh. Sorry, this ist the place I visited afore I saw the Sky Dragon,_:: Glenn answered. ::_Before he sent me to kill ye_:: 

Janus 'frowned' thoughtfully. Was this meaningful, or simply a coincidence. ::_Who did you visit here?_:: 

::_There was a Priestess. Direa, I think, wast her name._ _She serveth the Dragon Gods and thought mayhap the Sky Dragon could guide mine steps._:: Glenn's tone was sour. ::_I think mayhap I wouldst rather not meet with her again, if it canst be avoided._:: 

::_The main point of this exercise is finding Kid before she dies again,_:: Janus pointed out. ::_And, for what it's worth, I wouldn't be in a position to fix anything if I was still in my human body._:: 

Glenn sighed softly and agreed. Then, to Janus' surprise, he rushed to the railing and stared over at two figures riding – one after the other – down a rope swing. "Janus That's" 

Focusing on the two, Janus 'stared' in utter and absolute shock. The first figure he thought might be the boy, Serge, but it was the second that left him groping for words, much less a thought. "That's _me_!" 

*** 

The necklace around Glenn's neck had gone dead silent as they watched the other two slide and land some yards down and away near a small fishing boat. Glenn, standing at the rail, peered over intently. Two men, no, the second was more a boy, were walking over to the boat where a heavy set Guldovian woman was waiting. "Janus?" 

"It's my body," Janus whispered, voice stunned. "Damn. Leave the thing lying around and it goes wandering off on its own. God knows what it's been doing with itself. And look at that outfit. Does it have any taste? What's with the mask, anyway?" 

"But how?" 

"You put a hell of a lot of healing into it just as I separated," Janus murmured in a slightly more serious tone. "My mind was gone, but it he must have gotten up and left. I would suppose, without my mind, he got a new one." 

"Should I go after?" 

"And what? Tell whomever it is that that's someone else's body and to put it back? Teach him a better dress sense? No, Glenn. I don't need that body anymore. He's welcome to it. Besides" Janus paused musingly. 

"Besides?" 

"That's Serge he's with. Whatever plans my future self has, that boy is their focus. Which means, despite not knowing who he once was, not knowing _what_ he is, my physical self is still aiding our cause. I'll not interfere – especially not with his peace of mind. Not even to suggest that that outfit might be something of a taste crisis." 

Glenn thought about that for a long moment and understood. The human part of Janus must have been terribly confused and bewildered by everything. It wouldn't be fair to tell him that he was just the shell that had remained when all that was Lavos in him had been transformed. He tossed the pouch he carried lightly in one hand and smiled. "Then, instead, shalt we continue on our own quest?" 

*** 

Doc sighed, staring into his beer morosely. Everything seemed to go wrong for him, these days. So many lost. So many lives. _I've chosen the wrong field. I should have gone with the others._ He wished he knew what had happened to them. For nearly ten years they'd been able to stay in contact, but not long ago both had simply failed to report in. Reiken wasn't really a surprise. He was impetuous, obsessed with fighting and being the best. If he hadn't been able to control that obsession he was likely dead. _There's always someone out there better than you, after all._

As for Eike, he'd gone so deeply under cover that he might not have been _able_ to send a message. The last Doc had heard, his friend had joined a group called the Black Wind, a group whose purpose was to discover the truth behind the war with Guardia and the planned attack on Zenan. Doc could only hope Eike, now Norris, would be all right. 

_And now there's Kid. At long last I find her again and she's about to be lost._ Doc clenched his fists. _What if that necklace fails her too? Glenn's friend whatever it _he_ was seemed to think it might._ He imaged the girl lying in the bed of his little hospital, so small and frail. So much like he'd remembered her. His adored and much admired sister, dying because _he_ was too stupid to save her. "If only I had some hydra humor!" 

"Such as this?" A hand reached down in front of Doc and placed a small pouch on the table. Staring up into intense blue eyes, Doc realized that the very man he'd just been thinking of was standing there, smiling. "I think I knoweth thee," the blonde knight said gently. "Toan?" 

"I'm Doc, now," the young man corrected, picking up the pouch and staring at it. "This is Is this really How did you know?" His voice rose with his excitement. 

Glenn shook his head and smiled. "Not here. Let's get it to Kid. She ist in thy care, ist she not?" 

"Yeah. Come on!" 

*** 

Kid moaned, sighing softly as the pain that twisted through her eased. Was she dying? She slid her hand upwards to her necklace, waiting for it to do its work and hoping it would be quick. She'd never been killed by poison before and she hoped she never would be again. 

"Kid?" 

The voice was oddly familiar. Yet her confused memories couldn't quite place it. "G'way. Need t'rest." 

"Yes, you do. I just want you to know. Everything's fine. You're going to be all right." Kid's eyes flashed open and she stared blankly at the speaker, a lean blonde with long wavy hair, dressed in casually mixed up clothing. The sort of clothing worn by someone who just grabbed the first thing on top of the clean – and possibly not so clean – laundry pile and tossed it on. She knew that dress style, somehow, though she was blessed if she could remember where. "We found the cure. Someone brought it." 

"Cure but I heard yer. No hydra" 

A gentle voice, even more familiar and somehow important to her, spoke then. "Twas I who gave it him. When I heard of thy need I couldst do naught else but help." 

Kid turned her eyes and found herself staring into kind blue eyes set in a face that seemed so terribly familiar. Somehow the scent of smoke brushed her memory, only to be lost. It was a friendly face, not terribly handsome, surmounted by a brush of thick blonde hair. Around his neck was a bluestone necklace not unlike her own, and it too was terribly familiar. "Yer" 

"A friend. We canst talk more later, little one. Rest now." A gentle hand reached out and brushed the hair from Kid's face. "Go back to sleep." 

*** 

Glenn stepped away from the bed and smiled at Doc. "Tis, well," he murmured. "Mayhap now we have a chance at keeping an eye on her." 

The young man smiled back, relief in his eyes. "I don't know how to thank you. I was beginning to think I'd chosen the wrong field, but now" He was about to say more when a tall, burly, man stepped into the room. "Oh, Gorin, do you need something?" 

The man nodded and gestured at Glenn, who turned and looked at the man curiously. "High Priestess Direa has asked for this one to come to her." 

Glenn hesitated only a moment before agreeing. 

A few minutes later Glenn stepped into a familiar room. The woman he'd met so many weeks – _No, for her it has been years_ – ago still sat in her chair amid clouds of incense, but this time she was accompanied by a tall, strong, young woman whose presence and self-composure was palpable. Direa's face was tired and drawn, a sorrow in her eyes that had not been there before. "I remember thee," she said softly. "Thy path continues long and difficult, does it not?" 

"Aye, Shamaness," Glenn replied, bowing. "I fear it has." 

"Yet I did not call thee here for that. I think, perhaps, there are things that are beyond my understanding." The woman's eyes focused on the necklace around Glenn's neck. "I thought I'd sensed the Dragon's Tear that was stolen from us. Yet I see now that it was not so..." 

"The Tear?" Glenn repeated puzzledly. 

"A great gem," Direa gestured, forming an image out of thin air. It was a stone, burning with cold blue flames at its center. Glenn had never seen such a thing before and yet it seemed strangely familiar. "A gift to us from the Dragon Gods." 

Glancing down at Janus, Glenn thought. ::_Dost thou know this thing?_:: 

::_Not a clue._:: Janus answered, though his thoughts seemed troubled. 

"Thy time has not yet come, young Flame. There is much still for ye to do, it seems." Glenn realized from Direa's words that she had heard their conversation. Or rather, something had. The woman's eyes were unfocused and Glenn had a sense of something ancient. She nodded. "Aye, human. The woman allows me this connection that I may see and speak to thee, since I think ye would not come to me willingly." 

"Then you're the Sky Dragon, I presume," Janus said aloud. "Damn right we're not getting anywhere near you." 

"I fear, though with perhaps not so much rudeness, I must also decline any such invitation," Glenn added. "Thy pardon, Sky Lord, but." 

"I ill-used thee. Tis true enough. Our compact did not prevent me and I thought to change all that was to come, to find a different path. Yet it seems instead I have merely ensured the very thing I thought to avoid." Direa's eyes gazed coolly at Janus' form. "Very well. Then defy FATE in thy own way, little Flame, and we shall do so in ours. Yet do not forget that ye still needeth us. The time to decide which path this beleaguered world shall take hath not yet come." 

"I don't forget," Janus answered grimly. "I also don't forget what path _you_ would prefer – and what that path means for those who do not meet your own narrow vision of what should be." 

*** 

END OF TIME:   
While Glenn slept, resting properly for the first time since they'd begun their wild chase after Kid, Janus sat and thought, myriad eyes all focused on the timestream and at the tiny disturbance he'd seen at the base of the timelines created by Serge's death and survival. A rivulet that had somehow escaped the main flow and disappeared, freed only because another had entered in its place. 

Focusing his attention on another point in time, Janus 'nodded' to himself. There was a similar disturbance then as well, though those particular rivulets had come from the same major timestream. Now he understood what that thing Direa had shown them was, and how it had come to be. "So. They're going to hate me for this, but I don't think I have a choice." 

"Hate you for what?" It was Gaspar, coming in to the area from his favored post and giving Janus a concerned look. 

"Remember how we saved Crono from Lavos?" Janus asked. "We found a clone of him, ever so conveniently, and let Lavos have it in his place. With, no doubt, Melchior's subtle hand somewhere in the pot." He forced most of his eyes to close so as not to disturb the old man more than he had to. "I can't save Guardia from Porre without creating a paradox that time won't permit. On the other hand, there's nothing to say that the Guardia destroyed was the one that had people on it." 

"But how _Where_ are you going to find such a place?" 

Janus would have taken a deep breath if he'd had lungs. Instead he gestured at the reptite timeline where it streamed off in its own direction away from that of the human one. "By making a bargain with humanity's worst enemies." At Gaspar's expression he added, "In fact, it seems I already have." 

To Be Continued

* * *

Author's Notes:   
I should rephrase myself from last time There's nothing in the _game_ that states what happened to the second Lynx and Harle. In fact, as far as I can tell, the only place that explains it is in the Ultimania(?) Game Guide. It may well be that the programmers intended Home Lynx and Harle to have perished with the Home World Dragoons. On the other hand, it has the vague sense of reverse engineering to me. In the end, this fic isn't intended to anticipate what the programmers meant, just to explain what they did say in what I hope is an entertaining manner. Dramatic necessity, thus, required Janus and Glenn get a chance blow at least one pair of the villains away. At least – that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Besides, doing what I did in the last segment ensures the Masamune of Another World is in the right place for Lynx to pick up. He should have had his own, of course, but that's something I haven't figured out what to do about yet. Hmmm, maybe it got blown away in the attempt to reach the Flame on Home World. 

Rat Points and Salutes if you figure out where Reiken ended up. Eike and Toan are pretty obvious, but Well, it shouldn't be too difficult based on his personality. 

I didn't bother writing the acquiring of Hydra Humor. Suffice to say it just needed was to time jump to the right place - say a shop that had the stuff while it was still available. Somehow a shopping trip doesn't strike me as all that important to the story. Oh, and I know Norris is supposedly the stranger from the mainland in one of the endings, but again, dramatic necessity made me decide to ignore that and put our heroes in instead. 

Oh, btw, Alexiel, don't worry. The hard part of the writing is done. The next step is just a bit of re-editing here and there as I post, and fixing any older stuff if Skahducky finds something that messes up what I did in posted stuff. 

Deborah (Kosagi) Brown 


	14. Dealing with Dragons

The Fire When it Comes - Part 14: Dealing with Dragons – In which Janus strikes a deal.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

65,000,000 BC:   
Glenn gazed up into the skies at the rapidly approaching fireball, feeling nervous. "I hope thou art right in this, Janus. Thy timing must be perfect." 

"And it hasn't been so far? Don't be such a worry wart, Glenn." Janus was apparently scanning for something, a part of his Self distracted. "Would you have preferred to stay behind?" 

Smiling wryly, Glenn shook his head. "Nay. Wouldst see this through to the bitter end." He wondered as he said that just how bitter the end would be for him. Neither he nor Janus had addressed the fact that – while the future Janus had come back through time with FATE – there was no clue to his own future. _And I think I prefer it so._

"I've found Azala," Janus said, drawing Glenn's thoughts back to the present. "We'll have to wait until Crono and the others leave, though." 

"Tis just as well." Glenn eyed Lavos' burning shape in the skies and felt the tense anticipation of an accident that could not be avoided. Nothing would prevent Lavos from entering the timeline. Nothing would prevent it from burying itself deep into their world. It was all very well for Janus to say all the damage to the timestream wasn't just Lavos' fault, but it was hard not to fear and hate the power that had caused so much harm. "Dost thou sense it?" 

"Sort of. It's not fully integrated into the stream, though," Janus replied, easily discerning Glenn's meaning. "All right, they're leaving." 

High above them, atop the mountain that had once been Azala's castle, three winged creatures flew away, carrying the warriors who'd destroyed the reptite lord's plans to relative safety. "Let us go, then," Glenn said grimly. 

*** 

Azala lay in a pool of his own blood and waited to die. Above him the being he'd summoned to this world approached, carrying with it – he hoped – the destruction of humanity. "Soon my people Soon we will be free of them" 

"Quite true," a voice, a strange, shuddering and mind-twisting voice, said quietly behind the reptite lord, "Yet not in the way you hope. The only peace for your people is in the grave – unless you agree to help me." 

Somehow forcing himself to turn, to look at the speaker, Azala stared. A human stood there, one more like those strangers who'd joined with and aided the more primitive, much stupider, smooth-skinners against his people. "Who" 

"I am Glenn," the human said in a different voice, then gestured at the necklace he wore. "And we hath come to offer thee a bargain. I apologize as well for my companion. His manners art lacking, as is – often – his sense." 

Azala coughed up blood, groaning as he tried to rise and failed. "What do you mean? What companion?" 

"The force ye believe thou hast called wilt come no matter what," Glenn said. "And its presence will bring a cold that wilt destroy thy people, while the humans, more adaptable and better able to survive in such extremes, will live to become the dominant race on this world." Strangely, his words held no pleasure, no gloating, only a deep sadness. 

"" Azala whispered. "It cannot be" He gasped as a flare of light burst from the man's necklace. A light that showed him what was to be. Ice covered the planet, destroying nearly all plant-life, its cold too much for his people's blood. By the time the ice would go the only sentient beings left would be human and springing from those humans would be races upon races, a multitude of difference and diversity, breeding and interbreeding without thought or care. "NO!" 

"Yes." The light spoke then and he knew it spoke the truth. "This will happen. It cannot be changed. However I can ensure a timeline where matters go a bit differently. A timeline where your people reign supreme." The images that formed in Azala's mind then were of a verdant world, emptied of all but the reptites and the non-sentient beasts that shared their world in perfect, unchanging, unchangeable, harmony. It was beautiful, a dream beyond all imagining, and he stared at it in wonder and longing. 

"How how can you" 

"I will need help," that horrible, terrifying, voice said, "You have contact with the elemental forces of this world. A contact humanity has yet to form – for they are a young race – too young to comprehend what lies outside their physical selves. Allow me to bargain with those powers, for without their cooperation I can do nothing." 

*** 

OUTSIDE TIME: 

Janus faced the powers that would, one day, become the dragon gods in Azala's timeline, and rather more diverse forms in the human world. Here they were simply forces, patterns and feelings that represented the world itself. "Nothing can be done to prevent Lavos' presence," he told them. "The only thing that can be done is change its effects, splitting time in twain." 

"Time is not a toy" the voices said together, a harmony so deep and sweet that it hurt for Janus to listen to. He wondered what Glenn thought of it and hoped the knight was holding up. "It is time's nature indeed, its purpose to spread and become many lines. Why should this be any different?" 

"Because our timestream has been tampered with. Again and again and again, until all that is left is a flooding river that will scatter into nothingness if it is not soothed." Janus glared at the forces around him. "Is that what you want? For all time to end?" 

"And we should trust thee? Thy motives are clear. To ensure the survival of humanity alone. We must consider the lives of _all_ within our care, and what you show us does not speak well for a people who use this world in such ways as they." 

Janus went silent, unable to deny that truth and Glenn spoke softly, raising his face towards the powers around him. "Humanity moves more quickly, tis true, and mayhap tis Lavos' effect upon us that ensures this movement. Yet this movement, this scattering of life, hath ensured a diversity of sentient life upon our timeline that wilt not be there in the reptite. Dost thou say that their way is best and only?" 

"Dost thou, then, call them stagnant?" the voices asked, curiously. 

"Nay. This the difference between chaos and order. Mayhap I am wrong, but perhaps both art needed for a universe?" Glenn held his hands out in a shrug. "Lords of the elements, thou art right that we seek the survival of humanity, and of a single kingdom to boot. Yet if we do this thing, then we ensure the survival of reptite kind – albeit on another timeline." 

"It will shatter more than our Selves. It will be the shattering of thy friend. Ye know that, dost thou not?" 

Glenn started and Janus felt him looking down with a sharp frown. Janus shrugged, sending a small and shielded thought to the knight. ::_That Tear. What do you think it was. Hadn't you ever noticed the Flame in FATE's hands has no blue in its fires?_:: Turning his attention upwards, Janus added, "All the more reason for me to do this. In the far future I will be bound to one who would use me for the darkest of ends. If my power is halved it will limit her all the more." He could feel his friend's worry over him but ignored it, turning his attention on the Elements. "So? What do you say? Will you accept the bargain?" 

*** 

65,000,000 BC:   
There was a sudden sharp shock as Glenn found himself back in reality and staring down the oncoming comet that contained Lavos. It was so damned close he could see the fires burning and swirling on its surface. "Oh my God!" 

"Strangely apropos," Janus murmured. "Hold tight, Glenn, this is going to be a wild ride." The Flame wrapped power around the knight. "No time to send you out of the way, damnit. Good thing they're helping." 

Glancing around at the six balls of colored light that surrounded them, Glenn nodded. He kept his silence, though, for fear of interrupting his companion at a moment that needed all his concentration. Instead he watched as the fireball roared towards them, one hand clenching onto the hilt of his sword. 

The fireball seemed to be screaming, a howl of pain and _FEAR? Lavos is afraid?_ Glenn realized the ancient power had reason. It didn't belong in the timestream, was not built to exist there. 

*pain/fear/anguish/loss* The emotions hit Glenn then, emotions he knew was coming from Lavos itself. *hopelessness/sorrow* He gritted his teeth as he felt Janus begin to work. Power was flowing around them, from Janus and from the six elements. Glenn felt that power grasping at Lavos, grasping at time and somehow, impossibly, slowing its descent, even while another part of time slid on untouched. A peculiar double vision formed as the worlds began to split. 

There was a terrible roar, a scream of final agony and Glenn 'saw' the two worlds twist apart from each other. In one, Lavos plummeted deep into the Earth, burying itself in her crust and becoming permanently bound within her. In the other, it struck the moon, shattering a piece off that – somehow – got left in the other world. _So, that's where that second moon came from,_ Glenn managed to think, as the double vision began to fade. Only a last remnant of it showed what was happening in the two worlds. The utter and total disappearance of humanity from the one, the equally total disappearance of the reptites from the other. One world remaining warm, its rainforests flourishing. The other world beginning to chill. 

Janus made a sound like a dying animal, half-gasp, half-keen and as the last bit of vision faded Glenn found himself floating high over the burning sea that his world's Lavos had created. Then they were plummeting downwards. 

*** 

"JANUS!" 

Through a confused fog, Janus heard his friend's scream of terror. They were falling That was right, Glenn was afraid of heights. _And the lava_ _but I'm so tired I can't_ Somehow he managed to wrap Glenn in what remained of his power, just in time to keep him from being seared to ash by the heat of Lavos' entrance into the world. "Sorry All I can do" he whispered as they drifted down through molten rock. "Need to rest" 

"Janus, I swear, if ye had a face to punch" 

"I said I was sorry" Janus managed to gasp. "Shut UP!" Somehow Glenn had the sense to do exactly that, and Janus let his mind slide back into semi-consciousness again. 

After a long drifting moment Glenn whispered, "Nay. Tis _I_ who am sorry. I ought not have shouted. Wast frightened." 

"I know Now please let me rest a bit." Janus muttered and again there was silence. 

At last, as the drifting ceased, Janus forced his 'eyes' open and 'looked' around. They were in the depths, within the shell that Lavos was building for itself, its only protection against the reality around it. "Glenn?" 

"This is the Lavos shell – where we fought it – will fight it – in the future, ist it not?" 

"Yeah." Janus heaved a sigh. "Can't fight it here and now without destroying the timeline. Somehow, though, I don't think it'll be necessary. It's still recovering from its landing." 

"How art thou feeling?" 

"Like I've been torn in half and used for a roadblock," Janus answered, eliciting a small snort as he added, "Oh, wait, I _have_ been torn in half and used for a roadblock." 

"Aye," Glenn chuckled. "I suppose ye have at that." His tone turned serious. "Will ye be all right?" 

"As all right as possible with half my substance over in that other timeline," Janus grumbled, and would have said more, but a sense of something impinging on his consciousness interrupted him. 

*Anger/Pain/Loneliness* The thoughts and feelings coming to him had no real words behind them, but they were enough to make Lavos' 'thoughts' all too clear. *Confused patterns of existence./What should not be.* 

"We should leave," Glenn said softly. "There ist naught we can do here." 

"Not yet," Janus answered. "For one thing, I don't have the strength for time travel, and won't for a very long while. For another I think I _have_ to face it." 

Glenn sighed and muttered something under his breath about stubborn pieces of rock as he moved cautiously towards the center of the shell. 

*** 

Standing at the center of Lavos' shell was a terribly familiar situation. Glenn couldn't help but be nervous as they faced the blazing fire that was so like and so unlike Janus' new form. This fire had no bounds, nothing to hold it back, nothing to contain and control its power. 

*Freedom lost/Strength gone/Rage building* 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we _know_. You're really pissed off about this. We aren't exactly happy to have you here either." Under other circumstances Glenn might have chided Janus for his lack of manners, but right now the knight thought such weren't needed. Lavos wouldn't understand them anyway. 

*Shock/Confusion/Recognition of something that should not be.* 

"Tell me about it," Janus floated free of Glenn's necklace, movements irregular and off-balance. His flames, Glenn couldn't help noticing, were those of a dying fire, much more like those of the Frozen Flame they'd met within Chronopolis, only dimmer, so very weak. "Listen to me 'Dad'. We can't help you. We can't get you out of here and we can't change what's to come without making things worse." 

*Questioning/Puzzlement/Bewildered lack of comprehension.* 

For a moment Glenn knew why it was Janus had felt – if not pity – understanding for Lavos. A pity that turned quickly to fear as Lavos suddenly lashed out and wrapped itself around its small kin. 

*** 

Mind to mind touching, things lost and things left behind. Too much to see too much to understand. Inchoate longing. Joy, sorrow, shattering and becoming one. Understanding was coming to it. Understanding of what had happened and why. Yes, that future was the only possible one. Any other would lead to an ending of all things. 

Yet still, this future might mean its own death and there was fear of that death deep within. Outside its communion it could hear the ephemeral voice of the life that accompanied its small subpart, calling out in fear and anger. _Ignore. It has no significance. Just this little piece of 'me'._ This one could be changed. The future could be changed and much of its self wished to ensure its own safety by doing so. It would be so easy, such a simple move in a long and dangerous game. 

Only the knowledge that its purpose, the destruction that it represented, was to bring creation around full circle, to recreate the universe – not end it utterly – kept it from acting. It might be that this one would have to stand in its place in that end, become its Self reborn in that far away time when the Universe reached its end. The human words "Like a phoenix from its ashes" came to it from its small subpart, the very tired thoughts in its mind telling it that this part of its Self had been terribly injured by all that it had done. 

At last a decision was made. Reaching into the other, it restored its strength and sent both it and its human companion on their way. Then, silently, it drew in on itself and slept, to await its next awakening. 

*** 

END OF TIME:   
Gaspar started awake at the sound of something crashing down in front of him. Opening his eyes he found Glenn slowly rising to his feet and groaning. The Flame that had once been Janus gleamed at his chest, its fires changed, no longer as bright, the blue flames gone. "It's probably a bad question to ask," the sage said slowly, "But Are you two all right?" 

"Damn right it's a bad question," Janus muttered. "Yeah I'm better than I could be, actually, thanks to Lavos." 

Staring in shock, the old man couldn't help but stammer, "L..L..Lavos?" 

"The ancient one seems to have approved of our quest," Glenn said, leaning against the railing and taking deep breaths of air. "I didst not get a full sense of its meaning, but" 

"Lavos is the enemy, though," Gaspar protested. 

"So is FATE. So are the Dragon Gods," Janus pointed out. "Each of them have a point, after all, though I think FATE's the one I appreciate least. Of course, the fact that it's _her_ I'm going to get stuck with may have something to do with it." 

"Aye," Glenn sighed. "The Dragons art right that humanity hath caused a great deal of harm in the world. FATE could have a similar view and seek her own form of order in her world of machines. Of a certainty humans have a rather chaotic way about them that must rankle on such as they." 

The Flame seemed to grin wryly at Gaspar from within its Self. "Whereas all Lavos really wants is to get free. It doesn't really care who wins or loses, beyond that." 

"Still" Gaspar couldn't quite wrap his mind around the idea of Lavos as being helpful. 

"It helped me then because it's only begun its imprisonment, because it hasn't become infected with the concept of living. When the time comes for Crono to fight it, it is _not_ going to want to leave. It'll be too afraid of leaving the bars of its cage." Janus sighed, "I know how it feels. I didn't really want to become this, after all. But it had to happen and Lavos is going to have to be driven back out of time." His voice hardened. "But not before I get my sister back from him." 

Gaspar sighed a little himself. This was a bit more than he could understand. _And I'm the Prophet of Time. Some Prophet._ Still, what was most important was repairing the damage. "So, what next?" 

"It depends," Janus murmured. "Glenn, do you still say we should try? That we should go on? Lavos isn't the only one scared. I have a feeling this next step will be our last chance to change our minds. To try to prevent everything we've seen from happening." 

"Nay," Glenn said quietly, voice determined. "We hath come this far. I wouldst see it through, no matter what the cost." 

Gaspar looked at the knight. There was something about his tone, a sense of destiny that hadn't been there before. Janus spoke then, voice worried. "Glenn? Are you sure? We have to go to your time next anyway I could leave you there." 

Glenn shook his head. "Nay. I wilt not leave thy side now, when we hath come so far." 

"There was no sign of your presence in Chronopolis," Janus warned angrily. "What do you think that means for you?" 

"I _know_ what it means, I thank thee very much, my friend. Yet I wouldst rather die, fighting for this cause, than remain alive in mine own time and never know what happened to thee." Glenn took off the necklace and held it up to gaze directly into its flames. "I hath carried thee these many weeks. Fought beside thee and aided thee. Wilt thou deny me the right of closure?" He smiled wanly and added, "Besides, dost thou thinketh ye can convince Crono of thy good will without my help?" 

The Flame was silent and Gaspar could almost feel its anguish. Then, slowly, Janus seemed to nod. "Very well." 

To Be Continued)

* * *

Author's Notes: Not much really to say right now, but I've always wondered what the Dragon's Tear was. Maybe one of the FAQs explained the thing better, but I never saw anything in the game except that it was a dragon artifact. Has anyone explained it adequately?

The Tear in the story doesn't have sentience, however. Janus kept that for himself, just putting his power over there to help carry that world onto a new timeline. Makes it easier for the writer, since there' s enough tangled up knots to work my way through. 

More coming in another couple of days! 


	15. A Split In Time

The Fire When it Comes - Part 15: A Split In Time – In which a bargain is fulfilled.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

1009 A.D.:   
::_Belthazar. Melchior._:: 

Looking up from his intensive studies of Lucca's equipment, the former Sage blinked. ::_Yes Gaspar?_:: 

::_Janus has made a request. He asks that you both leave time and join me for a while._:: 

Melchior's mind voice spoke, ::_But, why? Our studies_:: 

::_Will have to be completed later. Let me bring you to me and I will explain._:: 

With a sigh, Belthazar nodded. ::_Just let me make my goodbyes to Lucca._:: 

*** 

END OF TIME:   
Gaspar focused his time spells on his two 'brothers' and pulled them to him, then waited for the two men to recover from their trip. At last Belthazar spoke. "Well, brother? What is it that Janus wants? Is he here?" There was a faint distrust in his tone, Belthazar had never been sure what to think of the transformation Gaspar had told him the boy had gone through. Melchior, who'd not seen some of what Janus could do, and had not seen the Flame first hand, was somewhat more open-minded. 

Smiling, Gaspar took his brothers' hands in greeting and told them, "No, Belthazar. He's already gone on to his next task. He asked me to fill you in And to keep you from being involved in the timesplit. He was worried it might cause more harm than good." 

Two pairs of eyes blinked at the Prophet of Time. "TIMESPLIT? WHAT TIMESPLIT?" 

"Come, and I will show you. Then we must begin studying a different timeline entirely, to learn what the dragons have done about their half of Lavos." 

*** 

600 A.D.:   
The seneschal opened the great doors to the throne room and shouted, "The Knight Protector, Glenn, once known as Frog!" 

Leene, startled and pleased that her knight had decided to come for a visit, lifted her head. What she saw there made her gasp with joy. It _was_ Glenn, a frog no longer, his form restored to its former humanity and his blue eyes shining with the innocent good-will that had always been the thing she'd liked best about him. 

As the courtiers moved out of the way and murmurs filled the hall, Leene's Knight walked forward, striding confidently up the steps to the throne and kneeling before the King. "Majesty, I apologize most abjectly for this sudden appearance, but the future hath need of thy aid once more," Glenn said, blonde head lowered. 

Rising from the throne, the King leaned down and pulled Glenn to his feet. "Now, now, you don't have to be so formal, Glenn. It's good to see you. Better still to see you cured! How might this have happened?" 

"Magus relented. After all that we had done, after all our battles, he felt there wast no point in my remaining amphibious." Glenn fingered a necklace that Leene had never seen him wear before, covering the ruby stone with the palm of his hand. A slight quirk to his lips made her feel as if he were amused by something she couldn't see or hear. 

The King was a trifle non-plussed to learn that it had been the kingdom's worst enemy that had been the cause of his servant's healing. Still, "Since it was he who placed that foul spell on you, it was only fair he be the one to remove it." Swallowing, hard, the King added nervously, "Is he here?" 

"Not as such," Glenn said and surprised Leene by suddenly stuffing his necklace into his shirt. "Though I'm sure he would have _much_ to say if he wert allowed to." That quirky smile formed again and he coughed. "My King, I fear I am not here to speak of the Magus. Rather I must discuss another matter." 

"Please," the King stepped back and sat back down. "I am always glad to consider a request from my wife's champion." 

Glenn nodded, "As ye know, much of what we did recently had to do with travel through time. I have learned of a terrible fate that will befall our kingdom in Crono's time and I would warn him." Leene stared at him in shock, hands clenching on the arms of her throne. The future Those brave youngsters in danger? 

"What fate?" 

With a sad expression, Glenn shook his head. "Twould be better if ye not know, lest ye attempt changes that wouldst set off more troubles in our future. Best to leave the handling of the matter to Crono, who wilt be there and best able to manage what ist to be done." 

The King considered this. "I could command you to tell me," he said slowly, "But I trust your honor and your word. You would not refuse to speak without dire cause. Very well. Then what would you have me do?" 

"When I leave here, grant me access to the treasury. There I wilt leave a message and ensure that it comes only to Crono and only in the right time and place." 

Nodding, the King glanced at one of his guards. "Let it be as he has asked," he said. "What after, Glenn? Will you rejoin us?" 

"Majesty, that is the other thing. There is that which I must do which demands my entire Self to the doing. I must, regretfully, ask to step down as Knight Protector." Glenn glanced at Leene with an aching sadness in his eyes. 

Before her husband could say anything, Leene rose. "Glenn? That is mine to permit or deny, not the King's." Before her knight could say another word, she continued, "And though it pains me to do so I permit it. You are free to go and do what must be done." 

The King glanced from Leene to Glenn and smiled wanly, knowing that the two had cared greatly for each other. "Before you go, though, will you permit me to honor you one last time? You may no longer be my Queen's Protector, yet you will always be a true Knight Par Excellence of Guardia." 

*** 

"You were sweet on her." 

Glenn glanced down at the necklace that he'd pulled back out of his shirt, now that he'd left the throne room, then made sure that no one was following him or nearby to hear. "Of course I was," he muttered, mildly. "She's the Queen. We wert _all_ sweet on her. Cyrus included." 

"Uh huh. Certainly explains the blush." 

Glenn would have snapped that he was _not_ blushing, but he knew it wasn't true. "I'm just flushed from that ceremony. Twas moving" 

Janus went quiet as they passed two or three guards, all of whom snapped to attention as Glenn passed, then murmured excitedly to each other once he seemed out of earshot. Then he said, in an unusually serious voice, "Yes, I suppose it was. Are you _sure_ you don't want to stay? They would be glad if you changed your mind." 

Glancing down at Janus, Glenn noted the muted tones of his flames. "Still trying to get rid of me? Twill not be so easy, my friend. I wast moved, aye, who wouldst not be? Yet I am not moved to the point of wanting kudos for what I hath done when there is still much to _be_ done in the future." 

Janus sighed. ::_Can't say I didn't try_:: he thought at Glenn, as they approached the guarded treasury door. Glenn shrugged slightly, nodded to the guards and went in, closing the door behind him. Then he paused, looking around, and waited for Janus to do what they'd come there to do. 

*** 

Considering the room, Janus floated out of the necklace and noted that it was getting harder and harder for him to do so. FATE might be getting a powerful tool somewhere in the future, but it was a tool that would not be nearly as powerful as it had been. Oddly, the thought comforted him, for it meant that whatever she did would be at a disadvantage. _More importantly, a disadvantage that she won't fully understand – hopefully until it's too late._

"Here, I think, wouldst be good," Glenn said, opening a chest. "An item in the corner, out of the way and – hopefully – out of mind for a good long time." 

"Yeah," Janus answered, moving to hover over the chest and a sigil, a serpent twisted into a figure eight, swallowing its tail, formed atop it. "Now's where it gets tricky. Are you _sure_ It's going to be a long wait" 

"Wilt thou stop asking that?" Glenn asked, laughing tiredly. "I am utterly and absolutely sure. Besides, ye told me yourself that I wouldst not notice the passage of time. Art thou telling me that this ist not so?" 

"No," Janus sighed. "I just hoped" 

"Nay, Janus. This is part of what must be. Just do what has to be done. If we canst not time leap into so near to that place where we were already then we must simply wait until time carries us there." 

In a human body Janus would have taken a deep breath. As it was, his flames flickered with bright red fire and wrapped themselves around Glenn, forming a bond with the knight, making the two of them, for the moment, as one. 

Silently, the chest closed, concealing a darkened ruby, the faintest of glows sleeping at its center. 

*** 

1010 A.D.   
Crono staggered back, startled, as a bright light shot through the doors of the throne room and stopped front of him. His hand went automatically to his sword. Glancing at his wife, he saw her focusing a spell, preparing to attack or defend, whichever might be needed. 

The light, a soft, coruscating ruby, formed the shape of a serpent swallowing its tail. "Come. A message waits in the Treasure Room." The voice was soft, almost familiar, and with those words the serpent swirled through the air and headed back out the door. "Bring Lucca as well. None else. Tell her to leave the children at the orphanage." 

Crono looked at Marle with a worried expression. So many years of peace had passed, but he knew from Belthazar that that peace was fragile. It seemed this message was a sign. "Damn," he muttered. "There goes lunch." 

Marle managed a wan smile. "You could eat while we wait for Lucca. It did say to bring her, after all." 

"Should we even listen, though?" Crono wondered. 

Considering that for a moment, Marle nodded. "Whatever is going on is in our treasure room. Do you really want it to stay there?" 

"Guess not. But I swear if this is a practical joke, I'm going to turn whomever's behind it over my knee." 

*** 

Lucca hurried beside the others. The last few years had been so quiet and pleasant that it was almost a shock to realize that she might – once again – be drawn into the unknown. She wished Belthazar had stayed, but a request from his brother had called the old man away. _And what could he do anyway? Neither of us wanted to build a weapon of destruction to use against Porre, and that was about the only thing left to us._

She had watched Porre's growth as a military power with trepidation, especially when they'd begun waving their swords in Guardia's direction. The worst of it was knowing that – somehow – they'd managed to get a hold of her technology. She still wondered about that invoice, it bothered her, not remembering making such a sale. Still, what was done was done. They had tools that could destroy Guardia now, tools that she would _not_ create in turn and could not defend against. _We're doomed, aren't we?_

As Lucca stepped into the Treasury room with the others, a blaze of ruby fire greeted her and a voice that seemed to speak with all the world's voices said, "No, little one. You are not doomed if you are willing to make a sacrifice." 

Lucca stared as the flames shifted, stretched and a shape formed out of them. A man, blonde, dressed in old-style clothing and carrying a sword similar to the Masamune sheathed at his side appeared, a blaze of ruby light hanging around his neck. "I greet thee, Crono, Marle, Lucca. T'is been a long time," he said. "And no doubt ye remember me in rather another form." 

*** 

Glenn watched his three old comrades walk slowly forward, Crono with one hand on his Rainbow sword, the others equally prepared to attack or defend if he were to make the wrong move or say the wrong thing. He smiled, not blaming them at all for their concern. 

"Your pardon, sir, but I'm afraid I don't" 

"It's FROG!" Marle gasped, eyes suddenly going bright with tears. Before Crono could do anything to stop her the young woman – who looked rather more like Leene than was good for Glenn's comfort – had thrown her arms around him and was giving him a hug that nearly broke his ribs. "You're cured! YOU'RE YOU AGAIN!" 

Unable to speak for lack of air, Glenn was glad when Janus interrupted. "Hey You think you could cut that out so he could get a word in edgewise?" He'd made his voice more normal and its tones were familiar enough to elicit a response from Lucca this time. 

"JANUS!?" The girl rushed forward, staring into the Flame that Glenn wore around his neck. The knight could have sworn it was blushing and he couldn't help but grin, a response he knew Janus could feel through their connection. "What did you do to yourself?" 

Crono coughed. "Uhm Maybe we should ask about what they've been doing later. I have a feeling this is urgent. Isn't it, Glenn? Janus?" 

Marle released Glenn, rather to the relief of his lungs, and he straightened. "Thou art correct, Crono. In this time and place there ist no time left. Thy kingdom is about to be attacked." 

Crono blinked and started to turn, only to stop as the door slammed shut, stopping him. "No," Janus said softly. "You three aren't going to like this, but the last thing you should do is go out and fight them." 

Lucca's expression turned terrified and angry. "The children! Why did you have us leave them? They'll" 

"They wilt be saved" Glenn said sadly. This was the hardest part of the whole matter. They couldn't remove the children from the timeline or save them from their hardships without making a change that would certainly destroy all their work. "Another me wilt protect them from the one who seeks ye, Lucca. But because they art needed in time, and thou and thy kingdom art not, they cannot be saved as we hope to save thee." He did not mention the second timeline, the one where the children died. Best not to confuse matters further. 

"Seeks? Me?" Lucca stammered. "But why?" 

"You're the only one who could break the Prometheus Code." At Lucca's widened eyes and look of recognition, Janus continued, "Yes, named for your friend Robo. Remember what Belthazar told us when I visited you? He placed the code within FATE's proto-self to keep her from harming humanity. She can only kill those humans who pose a threat to Chronopolis – a necessary protection to keep someone from accessing her power over time." 

Crono frowned. "If we aren't needed in time, why the hell have you bothered to come here?" His frustration was obvious and Glenn gave him an understanding look. "If we are to die, I'd rather die fighting" 

"It is precisely because you aren't needed in time that I can save you. But there's a price," Janus said calmly, "Half of it I've paid already, in losing a part of my very Self. The other is for you three to pay." 

*** 

Crono gazed directly into the flame, forcing himself not to flinch at what he saw within it, the transformation and shattering and changing of the Universe itself. "Explain," he said grimly. 

"Hast thou heard of the Frozen Flame afore this day?" Glenn asked quietly. 

"I have," Crono agreed and suddenly understood what Janus had become. "You?" 

"I will be. I'm not sure when or how, but if time continues along its course" There was agony in the voice, a pain Crono had heard before from the Magus, when he'd still been human. A pain never admitted to and never allowed to be sympathized with. 

Marle reached out as if to touch the Flame, her eyes pained. "But time can be changed. _We_ changed it." 

"And what a mess we made of it, right, Janus?" Lucca's voice was soft and as sad as the Flame's. A terrible sorrow formed in Crono's heart, an aching lump of knowledge that at least some of what was about to happen was his own damned fault. "We Belthazar, Gaspar and Melchior FATE Everyone trying to make things the way _they_ want it without thought to the consequence." 

"And I'm no better," Janus admitted. "But if this works, if I can keep time from scattering into nothingness, then at least I will have accomplished something. Yet that means that I cannot prevent Porre from attacking. I cannot prevent them from using that damnable weapon on your kingdom." The Flame eyed Crono directly. "But I _can_ replace your kingdom with a land that has no lives to matter. On another timeline the reptites survived and the price of their survival was the setting aside of the land that would have been Guardia in this world. _That_ is the land that will be destroyed." 

Crono hesitated. "The same thing that was done for me on a larger scale. But what will happen to Guardia?" 

"I will draw it into my Self, hide it in a place outside of time, unchanged and unchanging. Such has been done with another bit of time, in a place called the Frozen Sea. But this place will not be the same, for I dare not let FATE know of its existence. If all goes as planned, 10 years from now, things will come to a head. One of us, FATE, the Dragon Gods, or I, will find a way to choose the world's final future. If what _I_ want to happen happens, then I will be able to replace Guardia in its proper place. If not" 

"If not, we all fall." Crono said grimly. "You spoke of a sacrifice, though." 

"There ist no choice for Janus. He _must_ become FATE's tool. For millennia he wilt be alone, her bound and bonded slave," Glenn said softly and Crono, watching the Flame, saw in the flickering light the edge of fear. "I Likely I wilt not be available to help him. Yet in a long distant past, the two of us found ye three, or rather, representations of thee, within the Flame's Self. Of thy courtesy, Janus asks that ye become his guardians, the human minds that wilt keep him from madness and despair." 

"Oh sure, put the worst light on it you can," Janus grumbled. "Like I really need to be reminded that I'm going to be turned into a battery for an oversized computer with delusions of godhood!" 

Crono eyed Janus' Flames and knew the terror that he was barely hiding. Imagining the time that Janus was going to be enslaved was horrifying. _But if we're together It won't be so bad I hope_ He turned his eyes on the other two and it was Lucca who said, "Janus, if you _swear_ to me that there's nothing more that can be done for the kids that you've done everything possible to protect them I'm with you." 

Reaching out to take Crono's hand, Marle looked into his eyes and they both nodded as Crono said, "As are we." 

*** 

FATE watched Guardia with an avid eye, her every sensor focused on what was about to happen. Her tool had done well, so very well, and now – despite the handicap of losing control of the Flame – she could destroy those interfering mortals. The weapon Porre had invented had been primed and its power was about to be unleashed. 

_Soon Soon_ The explosion turned her sensors black momentarily, a brilliant white light that engulfed Guardia castle. A second explosion a second later did the same to Truce. So much power came from those explosions in fact that Time itself was shaken. She could feel something shudder and heard the Flame shriek in pain. Let it. The damned uncooperative thing had been grinning at her seeming helplessness all these years. She might not be able to punish it for its temerity but she could gloat that this – at least – it had been unable to prevent. 

*** 

Within the Flame, something shattered as time split. It could feel the change, knew what was coming, but also knew that, in order for its younger self to save the real Guardia, that change was needed, that somehow, if it won, it would restore things, bring the damaged lines back together into some semblance of order. 

Thus it was that while Glenn and Janus saved Kid and the children in one world, in another they never arrived, never prevented Harle from robbing the child of her only protection before Lynx's sword could end her life. With that death, another child who would have been saved from drowning died, shattering the one shield the Flame had against FATE's control and restoring FATE to power. 

Split between the two worlds, the Flame momentarily lost control of the Frozen Sea, for it needed to concentrate its power on the Guardia that was and – it hoped – would be again. For that moment, time returned to the point prior to the Sea's destruction by Lavos and created havoc for a few precious minutes. When it was over, the Frozen Sea became a place devoid of even the semblance of life, inhabited only by the protections FATE had forced her Flame to put into it so long ago. At the same time, its younger self was thrown forward through time, unable to control its wild flight, and carrying its burdens, old and new, into the future.

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes:   
I wasn't sure at first if I could find a good reason for that scene at the end of Trigger where Glenn is honored for something, but then it occurred to me that it might have been necessary for him and Janus to sit and wait for a chance to reach Crono. They probably didn't _have_ to go to that time, but Glenn wanted to say goodbye. 

I think I had Janus say those three weren't really Crono, Marle and Lucca back in the beginning. Either he was mistaken or I need to rewrite that segment to be more vague. 

Hey, Darth, is the reason you were upset earlier that I made Janus the 'child' of the big evil bad guy? Suffice to say that I needed to do it in order to supply him with the power to do what has to be done. And let's not forget that a lot of Japanese plots revolve around the child of the villain redeeming his heritage. grin Anyway, rescuing Lavos back when he first arrived, unfortunately, would negate everything that had been done and possibly create a really nasty paradox. And anyone who reads my Shadow Of Destiny fic will know that I don't consider paradox a good thing. 

Anyway, Skahducky only came up with a few questions for me. One may require rewriting some earlier stuff, the others are already clarified. So posting is about to increase speed to one a day for sure! (Well, I hope.) (SFX of Kosagi waving big Thank You Flags at Skahducky!)


	16. Meeting Fate

The Fire When it Comes - Part 16: Meeting Fate – In which Glenn and Janus reach a turning point.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

2399 A.D.:  
Glenn moaned, trying to open his eyes and – at least for the moment – failing. He was lying on something soft, wrapped in warmth The first real comfort he'd had in what seemed like ages. _Where am I?_ he wondered, and finally forced his uncooperative eyelids to work. 

The room he was in was strange, large and white, with few furnishings. From the window sunlight gleamed, a kindly light that felt so pleasant on his aching body that he didn't want to move. Only a sudden explosion and shouts of dismay from outside the room forced him to sit up and with agonizing slowness stand on his feet. 

Noting he was dressed in a pair of floppy white pants and nothing else, Glenn staggered to what he hoped was the door. It slid open, making a soft hissing noise. Beyond, men and women dressed in strange costumes ran up and down the hallways. "Blast it, can't they get that thing under control?" one woman gasped as she hurried past. 

"Thing?" Glenn asked, grabbing her by the arm. "What's going on?" 

Serious grey eyes met Glenn's, reminding the knight of Lucca somehow. "Oh you're awake. We were beginning to think you'd _never_ wake up." 

A voice, or rather voices, thundered, "GET YOUR DAMNED CLAWS OFF OF ME OR I'LL BLOW YOU TO SMITHEREENS!" The sound was accompanied by another explosion. 

"Janus? What art ye people doing to Janus?" Glenn spun the woman around and pushed her against the wall. "Where ist he?" 

"He? What are you talking about? You were alone – well you had that strange power source on you – but that was" 

"THAT'S WHO I'M TALKING ABOUT WENCH!" Glenn roared, feeling the urgency of his friend's anger through the link. FATE, he realized. FATE was about to get him. "WHERE IST HE?" 

"It's just a power source," she protested, "Ouch! You're hurting me!" 

"Take me to him! NOW!" 

***

Small explosions were about all Janus could manage. He'd used so much of his strength in saving Guardia, in absorbing its existence, that only anger at being manhandled was keeping him from dropping into semi-consciousness. Around him, white garbed men and women were trying to figure out a way to approach him, their poking and prodding devices in hand. None seemed willing to take the risk though, considering how he'd turned one of them into a frog when they'd tried. The old spells were sometimes the best. 

_Glenn where are you I need you_ He could feel his friend's life force and knew the knight was alive. He couldn't communicate with these people, couldn't make them understand that he wasn't a toy. Couldn't keep them from trying to connect him up to their damned machines. _The link_ he realized, formed during their centuries of 'sleep'._ It's so tight now I can't communicate without him! _

Suddenly the door swooshed open and two figures entered, one a woman from this time, the other Glenn looking madder and more determined than Janus had ever seen the knight. "GLENN!" 

Startled eyes turned on the doorway, then on Janus. "It talked!" 

Janus stopped firing off explosions and quieted as Glenn made his way over to him. "Art thou all right?" 

"Hell no. These people keep trying to make me into a pincushion." Janus felt a surge of relief as Glenn picked him up. This was safety, especially here, with his power over time exhausted, in this place he very much feared would lead him directly to FATE. ::_I can't get us out of here, Glenn. I'm almost out of strength_:: 

Glenn nodded and turned to face the man who was – slowly and cautiously – approaching them. As near as Janus could tell, that man was these people's leader. "Sir?" the man said, stopping a few feet away. "Sir, you seem to have mastery over that thing. And communication with it." 

"Tis certain I can communicate with it. Yet I dost not understand how ye do not." Glenn's voice was mistrustful and Janus could feel the tension in him as if it were his own. 

"Until you came in here all we heard were well I don't think I could describe the noises but they weren't in any language we could recognize." The man tried to smile reassuringly. "I assure you, if we knew the Flame had sentience" 

"I do not understand. I could hear him all the way upstairs," Glenn answered. "Admittedly he wast bawling and shrieking like a spoiled brat in tantrum, yet still he spoke." 

::_A spoiled brat in tantrum?_:: Janus demanded thought to thought and got a quick mental grin back in return. ::_That's right. Pick on me when I'm down._:: 

::_Tis the best time._:: Glenn answered, and continued aloud. "What was it ye sought to do?" 

"Could we could we find a quiet place and talk?" 

"Mayhap. An thou returneth my sword to me and I wilt consider it." At the man's startled look, Glenn added, "I am a warrior and a Knight. Ye may trust that I hath enough self-control not to attack thee out of hand. If ye wouldst have me trust thy purposes, however" 

"Oh yes yes of course." The man spoke quietly to another, who ran out and came back with Glenn's weapon. "Oh and another thing?" 

"Aye?" Glenn asked, somehow managing to strap the blade on without putting Janus down. 

"Could that thing Could your friend _please_ turn my secretary back to a human being?" The man gestured at the frog sitting nervously on a nearby counter. 

There was moment of dead silence. Then, "JA_NUS_!!" 

*** 

Glenn sat uncomfortably on the soft couch, sword at his side and Janus on the table before him. His friend was still sulking at the scolding he'd been given, though Glenn was pretty sure at least a good part of him was listening to Chronopolis' Chief Scientist explaining what was going on. 

"I don't know where or when you came from, Glenn," Dr. Soren said, stirring his hot tea. "But I get the feeling you know quite a bit about Time Travel." 

Glenn nodded slowly, a trifle amused at the significance the scientist placed on the phrase, capitalizing the term in his speech. "Aye, tis a subject I've some small experience with." The faint snort in his mind was Janus', telling him the Flame was beginning to take an interest in matters. 

"The plans for Chronopolis was started in the early part of this century by a scientist" 

"Belthazar. I hath met him." At Soren's stunned expression, Glenn shrugged. "He hath had a finger in many times." 

"And many pies," Janus added sourly, causing Soren to jump. "Oh stop that. I won't turn anyone into frogs as long as you don't try and do anything to me against my will." 

"Might I suggest," Glenn commented, "That frogs are a trifle lacking in taste, all things considered?" 

Embarrassment flowed through their link and Glenn sent his friend a mental image of a rueful grin, to an obvious sense of relief from Janus and to Soren's confusion. Glenn smiled at the man and added, "Wast one for years, owing to this one's sense of humor. Yet we art friends now, and hath been comrades for some time." 

"Besides, it got irritating when he started ribbiting in his sleep," Janus added. "And the flies" 

"Shut _up_, Janus," Glenn said genially, glad their momentary argument was over. "Thou'rt scaring the poor man." 

Soren coughed nervously. "Er yes well _Any_way. Chronopolis was begun with the purpose of creating the time loops needed to allow three young people from the past to prevent an ancient power from rising. To tell the truth, none of us believed that was really necessary until we began looking at things. After all, we were long past the so-called Day of Lavos and – aside from a terrible earthquake in Guardia – nothing happened." 

Glenn sat up straight. "Guardia?" 

"Yes. Is something wrong?" 

"Guardia tis safe?" He looked at Janus, whose entire attention was turned on the scientist. 

"Indeed. The seismic indicators warned us that the earthquake was about to happen, so we were able to get everyone out of the area in time, but" 

"Did anything happen to it in the year 1010?" Glenn demanded. 

"We don't know. The whole period between 1001 and 1021 is interdicted. Belthazar did something to the codes that prevent us from looking into that time." Soren made a sour face. "It's actually sort of irritating. The time is crucial to a number of areas in our history. Porre, Guardia, Termina, Marbule All places and races important to our current world. Sir? Why are you looking at me like that." 

"Marbule. Termina. Then there's a continent of Zenan?" At Soren's confused nod, Glenn looked at his friend. "Does that mean it worked?" 

"Perhaps. We don't know what happens to us here. And with that time blocked, unless I get up the strength to get to Gaspar, I'm not going to be able to make sure everything went the way _we_ want it to. For all we know FATE will take over any minute now." 

Soren's eyes went wide. "How do you know about FATE?" 

*** 

Janus watched the human scientist's expression become even more confused. _Not frightened, though. Perhaps just perhaps we can trust them._ He sent the thought Glenn's way and got a quiet nod. "As I hath said, we hath some experience with time travel. More importantly, we hath contacted Belthazar." Glenn cocked his head at the scientist and added, "And ye hath yet to tell us _why_ ye wanted the Flame." 

Soren eyed Janus nervously. "As I said, we discovered the facts about Lavos and his destruction while we were using the time viewer to examine the past. We discovered traces of other paths, paths now lost and faded in time, but still visible if one looks carefully. Those paths showed us that if we didn't fulfill the prime purpose of Chronopolis we'd be causing time to return to those old, terrible, patterns. 

"We're actually ahead of schedule, I suppose. Porre had some old technology hidden away in one of their labs that helped us go so much faster. I admit, I'm still not sure we should have used it, but well the fear was that if we didn't we wouldn't succeed in the plan. So after some years of debate, we decided to try it." 

"Old tech. How old?" Janus asked, and had the strangest feeling like something had walked over his grave. Was that old tech pieces of FATE herself, brought forward to begin again? Or something else, something more dire? A vague hint of an idea began in his mind. 

"You know, I'm not really sure. Whomever designed the things must have been a genius on the same level as Belthazar and Lucca Ashtear. We actually ended up using a couple of modules directly, once it was shown they had a limited control over time. That was how we got the ability take a direct look into the past in the first place." 

Janus didn't like it. Didn't like it at all. Yet Belthazar's and Lucca's program ought to be able to interfere with any trouble those modules would cause. "That doesn't tell us why you needed me?" 

"Forgive me er sir, but you are a power source beyond our wildest dreams. Even as you sit there you're gathering energy From what, I dare not guess. Already you are off our scales. Chronopolis _FATE_ has the ability to make the changes in time that are needed for those three young heroes to fulfill their quest. It does _not_ have the power." 

There was a soft, explosive, sound from Glenn. "Of course!" 

"Sir?" Soren asked, startled. 

Janus turned his attention on the knight. "Glenn," he said softly. "Now I think we know how I got where I did. The question is" 

"How canst we keep FATE from having full control over ye?" 

Suddenly angry and frightened, Janus lifted himself in the air and put himself right in front of Glenn's face. "No, you stupid self-sacrificing knight! How to keep her hands OFF you!" 

"I don't understand," Soren whispered. "What are you talking about?" 

Glenn reached out and took Janus in hand, and the former mage felt himself quiet and calm almost automatically. "Janus We hath already discussed this. Once I went on with ye the likelihood of my escaping with my life became non-existent. When wilt thou accept that?" 

_Never,_ Janus thought to himself, carefully keeping the thought from reaching his friend. _Somehow, Glenn. Somehow I will find a way to save you from your own pigheaded self-sacrifice._

*** 

Glenn ignored the faint whisper he'd heard from Janus, knowing the Flame had not meant it to be heard and not wanting to discuss the matter further. "Sir, art thou aware of the danger FATE herself poses to thy world?" 

"Belthazar left a program, the Prometheus Code. With it we will be able to control her actions. As long as it is in place she can only do what is helpful to humanity. The only harm she will be permitted is self-preservation – for we dare not allow interference with her purposes." 

Glenn considered that. "I fear she wilt still find a way to suborn her commands – and to put a power like the Flame in her hands." 

"I don't understand." 

"That is because ye think of Janus as mere power source. He ist more, much more. He ist capable of magics far beyond those of mortal man." Glenn set Janus down gently. "Ye saw what he did to thy secretary. That magic was nothing compared to what he can do when he ist at full power." 

"Then could he create the warps?" 

It was Janus who answered, his tone exhausted and defeated. "No. At my fullest power, perhaps, but half my self is gone, trapped in another world entirely. As I am now, I cannot do what must be done." He sighed softly, "Time magic requires power of a far greater order than mere transformation, and a focus I no longer have" 

Soren shook his head. "I don't see what else we can do, then." 

"Mayhap I have an idea. Ye need one to actually command the Flame. One who ist _not_ FATE herself. As long as a human – a human she is forbidden to harm directly, no matter what danger he is to her – stands between her and her power source, it wilt be – if not impossible – difficult, for her to use him against humanity." 

::_Glenn. NO!_:: 

::_Janus. Yes. We need her to do her job. If we allow her access to thee during that time, she wilt find a way to suborn all that we hath done._:: Glenn gave his friend a serious look. ::_After that_:: 

::_AFTER THAT SHE'LL FIND A REASON AND A WAY TO DESTROY YOU, YOU STUPID FOOL!_:: The Flame flared, every eye turning on Glenn, as if – somehow – Janus could use force on his friend to change his mind. Yet the link between them, the bond that had connected them so long, prevented it. ::_Please, Glenn, don't do this. Don't_:: 

::_And after all that we hath done, all that we hath worked for – wilt thou sacrifice our efforts to thy concern for me, appreciated though it is? We know what happens to thee. It cannot be changed. Ye know that._:: 

The Flame went silent and dimmed as it sank to the desk. In Glenn's mind he could feel the tears that would have coursed down his friend's face, had he still been able to weep. 

*** 

2400 A.D.:  
Janus ached. Tiny little wires were attached to him everywhere and he sat at the center of a great globe, feeding the power he'd regained over the last year into the machinery around him. "I feel like a pincushion," he sighed. "Or a hedgehog." 

"Aye, ye look a bit like one too," Glenn answered from his position down below. "Dost thou think thou art ready, Flame?" He was deliberately not using Janus' name anymore, for they'd decided that the less FATE knew about her power source, the better. She wasn't on-line yet, of course, but Glenn had had to work to get into the habit. 

"The cloning equipment's on-line, the program is as ready as it's going to be and I would, on the whole, much rather be in back in Medina plotting to take over the world." At Glenn's wry laugh, Janus added, "Or getting drunk in some bar. If there's _anything_ I regret about not having a human body anymore it's the inability to down several bottles of wine and drop face first into bed for a few hours." He didn't add the some of the other possibilities of a human form, since there was no need to embarrass his friend with descriptions of his lifestyle as the Magus. 

"Thou wilt just have to leave it to me. And once we art done with this, given nothing untoward happens, wilt be one of the first things I would like to do." Glenn stretched and sighed, "Tis almost time, my friend." 

Glenn used one of the links to his body to check the computer time. "Countdown is beginning," he agreed. "I still think you should go" 

"And I intend to stay. Stop fighting me on this, Flame." Glenn's smile was what it always was, firm, determined and kind. 

There'd been a time when Janus had hated that face, hated the person behind it and hated his self righteous purity, but that time was long over. He didn't want Glenn to stay and yet he did. With a sigh, he reached out mentally, forming an illusory hand in mid-air. "For luck," he said, and Glenn reached out and shook it, then turned to face the clock. 

10 

9 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1 

*** 

The lights flickered around them and Glenn found himself holding the railing that surrounded the Flame's protective globe so tightly his knuckles had gone white and his fingers ached. Then he heard Janus' sigh. ::_She's on-line_:: his friend told him. ::_They're ordering her to begin setting up the warps._:: 

::_Dost she show any signs of not complying?_:: 

::_No. Meek as a lamb. I don't like it._:: Glenn heard the worry in his friend's mind voice. 

::_Nor I. We know what she wilt become. We canst not prevent that. We can only hope we canst prevent her causing further harm in this time._:: 

A power surge darkened the lights momentarily and Janus moaned. ::_What ist it?_:: 

::_It begins. She's using my power. It hurts._:: As Glenn stared up at the Flame in concern, it managed a pained shrug, even as another power surge hit. 

The next minutes were obviously torture for Janus. Glenn watched, helpless to assist his friend as the Flame's strength was slowly eaten away by the warps needed to permit Crono and the others to complete their tasks. Keeping one eye on the monitor showed the three, and the others, as they fought their way to that final, fatal, meeting with Lavos and – at long last – stopped the ancient being. It made him feel strangely uncomfortable, especially watching the final battle. He hadn't felt nearly so heroic as all that, but from outside he had to admit they'd been an impressive team. 

::_Done_:: Janus gasped into Glenn's mind. ::_And I felt something odd about that fight As if something was happening elsewhere elsewhen all over._:: 

::_What dost thou mean_:: Glenn's thought was interrupted by a sudden blaring of alarms. "What the hell?" 

"She's done. And what we knew would happen begins." Janus' voice was weary. "I haven't the strength to stop it. They tried to turn her off and she deliberately construed it as a threat to her existence. She's used everything in her power to kill them." 

Glenn put his hand to the sword but before he could move strands of wire encircled him and held him still as FATE's security system attacked him. "Damnit! Let me go! Janus Help me." 

"I can't. She's blocking me. She can't make me do what she says I won't do it FATE. Do you hear me? I WILL NOT DO IT!" 

*** 

FATE focused her attention on the very depths of her physical being. There he was, the Arbiter, the human who dared keep her from the power that ought, properly, be hers and hers alone. _At last. After so very long. After so many thwarted plans. I will take my place as ruler of this world._

The Flame's angry shouts echoed through the chamber, even as the Arbiter struggled to break free. She reached out, intending to kill him, and found that she could not. _How is this? I slew those upstairs, the ones who tried to turn me off. How is it I can't harm _him_?_

Puzzled, she paused, looking into her Self, and cursed. She wasn't sure how or when, but something had been inserted within her codes. Something that seemed to slip and hide away whenever she focused on it. That was what was blocking her. She tried to reach it, to destroy it, but found that she was blocked from that as well. Once more she was thwarted, unable to defy her Flame's Arbiter, unable to harm him, no matter what he did. 

"Let me go, FATE! I will NOT serve you!" It was the Flame, its voice strangely familiar to her. She'd heard another voice speak so once, in a long ago time. Shrugging off the past for the all important now, she wrapped her power around the Arbiter, eliciting another scream from her power source. "No! You can't kill him!" 

FATE projected an image of herself in front of the Flame. No true human seeming in this place and time. Rather she embraced the metal and made it herself, a giantess formed of purest metal. Gazing into the Flame, she smiled coldly. "You're right, little one. I cannot kill him. But I can make his life a living hell. All in his best interests, of course" 

The Flame went silent and she had a sense of those myriad eyes staring at her much like a rabbit would in that moment before it was struck down by a raptor's claws. It was an analogy she very much liked and she leaned in to gaze coolly at the thing trapped within the globe. "As long as he is in my power, little one, you will obey me." 

"NO! Flame! Don't listen to her. Don't" Glenn went silent as more strands of wire covered his mouth. 

With a desperate sound to its voice, the Flame gasped, "Wait I'll make a bargain with you." 

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes:   
I don't blame you for being confused, Alexiel, _I_ got confused sometimes throughout the writing process. Time travel stories are just plain headache inducing. 

Anyway I have a timeline that I might have to post at the end if there's still confusion. Still – hopefully what isn't answered yet will be in the near future. 

Next time we learn Glenn's fate. We already know Janus' 


	17. Of Past Futures

The Fire When it Comes - Part 17: Of Past Futures – In which a secret is revealed and a circle is completed.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

The huge metallic eyes watched Janus without blinking and, after a moment, she cocked her head. It was a mistake on her part, for the motion was so familiar, so terribly familiar, that in that moment he knew who and what she had to be. More, that knowledge reawakened old hatreds, old angers and simmering resentments. His mind, momentarily overwhelmed by the force of her personality and his fear for Glenn, began working overtime. Other ideas were coming to him. Other ideas and understanding of what it was he was going to have to do. 

::_Glenn. For what I am about to do to you. Forgive me._:: Before the knight could respond, he closed off their link, though he kept a part of his attention on those blue eyes. He never wanted to forget those eyes. He'd need to remember and to hope. Deep inside his Self he felt three souls begin to stir, awakened by his moment of need. _Wait,_ he told them, not wanting the distraction. _It is not yet time._

"So?" FATE asked, tired of waiting for him to continue. 

"If if you will free him, I will serve you." Janus forced himself to stammer, to seem more frightened, more child-like, than he really was. 

"Now, now, little one. Do you really think I am so foolish? I free him and he uses his command on you to overpower me. No. I think not." 

"What if I do something that will make him no longer my Arbiter?" At FATE's raised eyebrows, Janus rushed through his explanation. "He is linked to me and to your security through his genetic structure. Change that. Change his very Self, down to the element to which his spirit is linked, and he will no longer be a threat to you, nor will he be able to command me." That wasn't the entire truth, there were links between himself and Glenn that could only be destroyed by death, but those links could not block FATE as the genetic one did. 

"And you will simply transfer your affections to his new shape, and make him your Arbiter again." 

Janus trembled. "N.. N.. No. I won't be able to. He'd have to touch me for me to register the codes and transfer them into the system" 

"What is to stop him from trying?" FATE asked softly and Janus felt a moment of triumph, though it was darkened by the look of betrayal in Glenn's eyes. Still she seemed to be considering the idea, and that was what was important. 

"Because after I change him, I will take away his memories and, most importantly, we will send him back in time a couple of thousand years, where he can be of no possible harm to you." 

There was a long moment of silence and to Janus' relief, he saw the knight's expression change as he seemed to understand what it was his friend had in mind. The blue eyes turned sad, but he nodded, his movement turning to wild shakes of the head when FATE glanced his way. What she saw appeared to satisfy her, for she turned and smiled. "Very well. Do it. Then you will be mine and mine alone." 

Janus forced himself not to sigh in relief as he reached out to Glenn. Once more he opened the link. ::_You won't remember. But I _will_ know you._:: 

::_I know. I understand. Goodbye until we meet again..._:: Glenn's eyes stayed fixed on his as Janus began to work. Reaching deep into the man's DNA he switched one strand, then another, knowing – even though he had no control over the result – exactly what it would be. At the same time he wiped away the memories in the knight's brain, creating a clean slate. Only one thing he left alone, those eyes. Even if FATE had demanded it, he could never have changed those. At last he looked into the clear, innocent, blue eyes of the dark-haired baby boy. 

::_Doreen. Take care of him. Stay with him. No matter what weapon he wields. No matter where he goes. Stay with him._:: 

::_I will, Prince._:: 

Reaching out one last time, Janus used FATE's controls to fling the baby backwards through time, aiming him for a certain beach. In his mind he could see the spot and he timed the transfer perfectly, laying the child gently in the sands, just as two young people came through the trees. _Be good to him, Marge,_ Janus thought as he pulled back and away. _Farewell Glenn. I'll see you again, Serge._

*** 

FATE sensed satisfaction from her new toy, but decided that it was simply the satisfaction of having saved that stupid human's life. She'd have to teach it to be so damned sentimental, but for now it was more important to get started. "What are your current power levels?" 

"It depends on what you want me to do." 

"First off, I want you to forget about that human. I want you to wipe him from your memory. Can you do that?" 

The Flame sounded utterly defeated. "Yes. I can bury the memory. It won't come back without the proper stimulus." 

"And since he is far from this time that stimulus will never be. Excellent. Do it." 

There was a moment's silence, then the Flame said, in a confused voice, "I think I just did something What was it?" 

"Never mind," FATE laughed, a rich, deep and very pleased with itself laugh. "Now. Do you have the strength to take over this world's weather?" 

The Flame considered the question silently. At last, just before FATE was about to administer a small shock to remind it who was master, it said, "Yes. I can." 

"Excellent. You will apply your control on this world, you will make this world a better place for humanity. You will make humanity so comfortable, so utterly complacent, that it will become weak. Then we will introduce my machines. Machines that will, ever so slowly, take over human duties. In the end, humanity's mastery will be ended, for they will not have the will or the strength to defy me. I will give them everything they want, until they die of it." 

*** 

Janus only half listened to FATE's ravings. Oh, her plan might have been a good one. He didn't know many living beings that would not be happier letting their harder decisions be made for them. It was, however, a plan that he fully intended to sabotage. 

_Is she stupid, or just over confident?_ he wondered and heard Crono's voice in the depths of his Self say, ::_Both, I think_.:: He grinned. He hadn't been lying about being able to wipe out his upper memories, had even done so for the barest moment, but when three very determined minds were contained within him, supplying him with the very protection he needed from such commands, FATE's wishes were hopeless. For now she had his cooperation, for what little it was worth, but one day that would change. 

"Have you begun?" FATE demanded suddenly and he realized she was done with her speech. 

"Uh Begun what?" In the back of his mind Marle laughed out loud and Lucca muttered something about 'passive aggressive' behavior in the long-suffering tone of one who had dealt with children for entirely too long. 

"Taking over the weather patterns." 

"Oh, did you want me to start now?" 

The sharp agony that FATE sent through him was utterly unsurprising, but it was still not at all pleasant. "Don't play games! DO IT!" 

Janus gasped, "All right, all right. I'm doing it!" He stretched out his will and grasped the world. This was going to hurt, both him and the world itself. Which, unless he missed his guess, was going to be among the greatest of FATE's many mistakes in her long and misspent career. 

The power flux twisted in his mental grasp, the world defying his effort to control and command it. For long years it had been free of Lavos. Had been growing in its own sweet, if somewhat chaotic, pace and now Lavos' power was commanding it again, was forcing it to obey. The screams of agony he was eliciting were echoing out of the time stream and he could feel another place, another time, respond. 

*** 

65,002,400 A.S. (After Split) Dragon World:   
In another timeline stood a complex not unlike Chronopolis in strength, its power source twofold, in its connection with that timeline's elemental powers and the sphere of mindless power called the Dragon's Tear. Across time and dimensional space itself that place heard the screams of another world. Heard and could do nothing but move to help. 

*** 

2400 A.D.:  
FATE frowned. This was taking longer than it ought to. Why? "What are you doing?" 

"Trying The world resists me. It doesn't want to be controlled." 

"Nonsense," FATE growled. "The world has no sentience. It's just a thing. A possession." She would have continued, but something was happening on her monitor. A time warp, one not caused by herself or her new toy, was forming to the west. Across Zenan continent a huge tower was coming into existence and from that tower "_DRAGONS?_" 

Huge beasts came flying towards Chronopolis and she realized almost belatedly that they were attacking. "Stop them!" 

"Do you want me to stop them or control the weather?" 

"You stupid" FATE sent a mental 'kick' at the Flame through the connections. "Worry about the weather later. They're almost on us." 

She could feel power being flung at her, power connected to that new structure. Power of a sort she couldn't comprehend and had trouble defending against. "Damnit, where did they come from?" 

"From a time where the reptites survived," the Flame answered, its voice abstracted. "I can't fight them right now. I'm too weak for anything but defense and another timewarp." 

"A time warp?" There was doubt in her voice. "You couldn't warp those children without me" 

"Children?" 

FATE realized that she was risking reawakening memories and rephrased the question. "I thought you couldn't create warps without me." 

"I can move myself and a limited area around me. Chronopolis is just within my power. At your command I can carry us all somewhere in the far past. Too far for them to find us quickly, if they have the power to follow." 

FATE thought about that. They could always jump back to the present once the Flame had regained the power it needed. And with a bit of breathing space, if the dragons followed, she'd be in a position to defeat them. Dropping her metallic guise as a waste of energy, she ordered, "Do it." 

*** 

11990 B.C.:  
Janus was unsurprised when Dinopolis followed them into the past. He'd known they would. He was, however, able to give FATE time to muster her own weapons and send them out, even as he used his power – combined with the power of his human self, far to the west on Gaea's navel – to command the elements to bind the six dragon gods to separate places. 

::_Sorry, guys. But you're just going to have to wait for your time,_:: Janus told the dragons and ignored their howls of rage. Their world had become insular, unable to bear change and unwilling to accept anything that wasn't part of its cycle. In their world, that was fine, but this was the human world and change was very much a part of its nature. They'd have to learn that. He _was_ sorry to have dragged them into the mess, but that too was inevitable, as was the return to this timeline of the Dragon's Tear. He'd have to wait to be reunited with his lost power, but with it, perhaps, what had to be done could be.

Nor was Janus surprised when a certain old man paid Chronopolis a visit, using his knowledge of the codes that permitted him access to the building to get past all the security FATE had in place. He carefully failed to mention the fact that Belthazar was poking around to FATE, while she studied the layout of the land. "What is this? There's no islands? No Zenan? Nothing?" 

"According to the databanks," Janus told her, keeping his voice neutral, "There is a legend that the islands and Zenan just rose out of the water one day. Perhaps this is that time. It is the end of one era, the end of the Enlightened Ones and the time when the Earthbound rise to power." He 'looked' at her innocently, not wanting her to realize that he knew who she really was, nor for her to know him. 

FATE went silent a moment. Then she asked, "Don't you know when we are?" 

"I was rushed. I know we're over ten thousand years in the past," Janus pointed out. "But I couldn't say the exact date." 

::_Take it back, jack, take it on back_: Crono thought at him and he had to force himself not to chuckle. 

"Then you must return us to our time." 

"I can't," Janus answered. "I used so much power binding the dragon entities that time travel of that distance is out of the question. More, even if I had the strength, I'd have to drop my control on the dragons and while I was preparing the warp they'd attack. I can't defend against them _and_ time warp. They'd expect it this time and block me." 

"Then protect us. Put up guards against any survivors reaching us. I will think about what to do." 

_I thought you'd never ask,_ Janus thought sourly as he force a ring of mountains up out of the water and concealed what would become the Sea of Eden under a bank of clouds. Just in time, too, for his earlier self was approaching and that Janus still had many things to see and do before he would reach this point. 

::_So it begins,_:: Lucca said softly. ::_This is where you came in._:: 

::_Yes, Lucca. This is the beginning. Now we just have to wait. It will be a long time. A very long time._:: Janus felt a touch of regret. Perhaps he should not have asked this of these three. 

::_Then it's a good thing we're here._:: Crono said and Janus could feel his wry smile. An image formed in the depths of his mind, the three children, looking much as they had when he'd first known them. Grinning, they took up their posts in the seeming of Leene's Square and waited for their first guests to arrive. 

*** 

END OF TIME:   
Belthazar took a deep breath and stepped back from the timestream. "So," he murmured. "That's the answer." 

Gaspar and Melchior nodded. "It does appear to be." It was elegant, the solution the dragons had found to dealing with Lavos. Without all the time travel to interfere with their development and confuse matters, the dragons had been able to form a greater understanding of that being's nature and needs. Using their segment of Janus' power, they'd been able reach into depths of creation and create a harmonic that broke their half of Lavos out of their timestream. 

Unfortunately, Lavos' nature was such that as long as any part of it was trapped, it all was. It was all well and good to have it released from the reptite line, but unless the same thing happened, at the same time point, in the human timestream, it would still be trapped. 

Looking into the human timestream, Belthazar and his brothers weren't sure if the attempt had or hadn't been made. The time in question was unreadable, the point when that small break Janus had caused saving Guardia had come back together. Certainly Lavos' physical self was still there all the way until 1999, when it would be defeated by Cronos, but they agreed that this might be necessary to keep the timestream steady. 

"So," Belthazar said at last, "our main purpose must be to get this knowledge to Janus and to help ensure the last bits of his plan come together. Then we must hope that that point in 1020 A.D. will be the resolution of our hopes, and not the end." 

Taking a deep breath, Belthazar dropped back into the timestream, seeking a way to reach the Flame without FATE's knowledge. 

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes:   
I played around for a while with variations on who Serge was. In the end, it became obvious that with Glenn being one of the main focal points of the story he was almost going to have to be involved in the end. I could, of course, have made him the Dragoon Glenn, but it seemed to me that of all the characters he was best suited to, it was Serge. After all, he'd gone through so much to get to the point of meeting FATE, it hardly seemed fair that he not be allowed to complete the task as the main hero. Skahducky, I hope the change in the above section clarifies the question of memory you had earlier. 

Hopefully, Alexiel, the question of whether Janus is the Flame of Chrono Cross is answered here with a resounding "YES". He's playing a very dangerous game of cat and mouse with FATE and unfortunately for him, he's currently the mouse. But this *is* Janus, after all, and he has plans and a fair number of ideas about what's to come. 

The upcoming chapters partake more from Chrono Cross. I tried to focus on those segments that were important to the plot, so there's little to no mention of many of the important characters and incidents of Cross unless it directly involves getting Serge to his final destination. 

Next time we rush through a few millennia and FATE's plans begin to take root. 


	18. The Worm Ouroborous

The Fire When it Comes - Part 18: The Worm Oroborous – In which the serpent swallows its tail.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown 

Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

11090 B.C. to 1006 A.D.:  
The first ten thousand years were the hardest. At FATE's command, Janus raised the islands of Zenan and peopled them with clones of those killed when FATE had taken over. It puzzled him slightly to find so much material available to be raised, but he decided it was probably just the remnants of the Enlightened's floating Islands. Once that was done, all he had to do was guide the development of those who lived there, and work to extend his, or rather FATE's, influence north. 

With little to do but wait and obey, and without daring to interfere too much, the only thing Janus could do was make sarcastic comments to his mind companions. He grew fonder of them, though, and very glad of their presence. Too, as FATE's plans progressed to her satisfaction he found more and more times when they all could simply drop into a state resembling sleep. He missed the Magus war because of it. Not that he really minded. It would have hurt too much, watching his stupid earlier self attempting things that he now understood to be impossible. Most especially he didn't want to watch what he'd done to Glenn. 

At last the day Janus awaited approached. When the storm began high above Chronopolis, Janus tensed, knowing what was coming and both scared and elated. At long last it would begin. Now he would see if everything he'd done had been enough, or if – in the end – FATE or the dragons – or worse, Lavos – would win. 

As his earlier self approached him, Janus drew himself together and sent a massive surge of thought into the place he knew his sister's soul waited, trapped in the depths of Lavos' Self. Wordlessly, he showed an image of his chamber, of a way she might, just might, find her freedom. She couldn't break free entirely, but – with his help and his old self's – they were able to give her a moment's respite. Then she was gone, leaving him bereft and grieving. 

::_Don't forget the boy,_:: Lucca urged, reminding him that somewhere outside, two men carried a dying child. 

The reminder perked Janus up immediately and when Serge was brought to him he longed to restore Glenn's memories to the boy. Only Crono's reminder that FATE might notice something like that forced him to settle on simply curing the child of the poison that was killing him and locking the boy's genetic pattern into the computer system. 

As his past self left with Serge and Kid, Janus listened to FATE's ravings with smug pleasure, even as he turned his consciousness deep into his Self within the Frozen Sea. Rather to his surprise, he found someone waiting for him there. 

*** 

TIME'S HEART:   
It hadn't been easy getting in. Belthazar had had to follow that ancient streambed in time to just minutes before the day of Lavos to do it. But there, locked in time, was the opening he needed and he used it quickly, before the defenses FATE had made Janus put on that timeless world could find him. 

There three familiar children were waiting, their eyes startled at his sudden presence. "Eh? Crono? Marle? Lucca?" 

"In a way We're sort of memories Their souls, if you will." Crono grinned. "The boss guy's not paying attention or he'd probably be here to greet you." 

"He's 'upstairs' gloating over Serge," Lucca said, with an air of amused tolerance. 

"Can you blame him?" Marle asked, "He's never really forgiven himself for what he had to do to our friend." 

Belthazar frowned. "Did to him? We were concentrating so much on the other timeline like he asked that we didn't have time to check much else. Who is this Serge?" 

Marle smiled sadly. "To save Glenn from FATE, Janus transformed our friend and sent him back through time to 1003. The child Glenn became was adopted and named Serge by his new family. Now, after millennia of waiting, their paths have intersected once more and Serge, like Glenn before him, has become the one human who can command the Flame, blocking FATE from his use and defended from her by her own programming." 

Before Belthazar could respond, a flare of red light filled the sunset skies and the Flame appeared. 

*** 

"Old man? What are you doing here? Did you find an answer?" Janus forced his voice to a more normal human sound with effort. It'd been so long since he'd had to do so and he'd nearly forgotten how. 

"I time-jumped into the Frozen Sea, near enough to the entrance to this place to avoid your guards," Belthazar answered, eyes wide as he took an involuntary step backwards, "And, yes er do you mind if I don't look at you?" 

"Look at the terror trio, if it makes you feel better," Janus answered, only too used to human reaction to his form. Belthazar wasn't the only one who'd made it to this place, though the old man was the only one who knew the truth of what he was. "So? The answer?" 

Belthazar talked quickly, describing the seventh element and the harmonic that it created using the other six, as well as the result. "The power to do it came from that which you left in their world" 

"The Dragon's Tear, which the dragon gods have brought into this world along with their sweet selves," Janus said, "Though I suspect they weren't considering that fact when they made the jump." 

"Now Janus, they _had_ reason, and if they hadn't we wouldn't have gotten here," Lucca reproved. "It's not their fault they're what they are." 

"Yeah," Janus retorted, "A bunch of insular, self-absorbed, stick-in-the-muds. There's a reason only dragons survived in their world and it has to do with the fact that anything that didn't fit with their worldview was destroyed. It might make for a paradise for those who fit in, but gods help anyone who doesn't!" 

Crono chuckled. "I think someone still has issues with his childhood, that's what _I_ think." He turned to Belthazar. "So, the trick will be getting the Dragon's Tear and Janus to Serge so that he can do the same thing on this side. Not to mention getting Serge involved in the first place. " 

"I think FATE will do that for us," Lucca said thoughtfully. "Even now she's captured those two men, and one of them will – almost certainly – end up becoming Lynx. And she'll use Lynx to attack Guardia and" Her eyes turned sad and Janus suddenly wished he had a shoulder for her to cry on. "and time will be split. She's certainly going to be attempting to regain control of Janus, and if she doesn't try to break the Prometheus Code somehow, I'm not Lucca the Great." 

The other two looked at her. "Well, strictly speaking" Crono said, grinning at her. 

"Hmph. You know what I mean." 

Janus turned his attention on Belthazar, causing the man to jump a little. "Sorry" he started to say, only to pause as he felt something shift outside. "Hello" 

"What is it?" 

"Nothing important, I think. We have a guest out there Kids? Would you mind getting him in here? No point in being inhospitable." As the trio disappeared, Janus turned back to Belthazar. "It's one of those two men who brought Serge here. FATE must have thrown him there to get rid of him. She did something to him too. If he goes back into a real time he'll die." 

Belthazar looked worried. "Is there anything I can do for him?" 

"No. I'll keep him safe, if bored out of his skull in here." Janus eyed Belthazar. "Do you still distrust my purpose?" he asked softly. 

"No. You scare the three of us. Despite that, we've decided to trust you." 

Janus nodded. "All right then. The best thing you can do is try and find out what Lynx is up to in that timeline where FATE's in control. If you meet up with Serge, help him, but don't interfere." He paused and added, "And if you can find out who the girl is that accompanies Lynx, and how she got Kid's amulet, that would help too." 

*** 

1006 to 1010 A.D.:   
The few years between Serge becoming his Arbiter and the Timesplit allowed Janus a bit of a breathing space. Without FATE yammering in his non-existent ears he was able to examine his memories carefully and determine how to proceed in the upcoming Event. As he'd rather expected, he got no sense of cooperation from the Dragon Gods. It was too bad, too. As allies they would have been invaluable. As enemies they were a constant aggravation. 

The moment of the split was, of course, the worst. Even knowing it was coming, even knowing that it was impossible to avoid, didn't help. Nor did it help knowing that – on one world, at least – Lucca's wards had died. Janus would have given anything to have made it different, but too much of his power was tied up in the moment. Any _more_ interference would have resulted in time scattering out of control and everything they'd worked for being destroyed. 

Deep inside the Flame – in the unbreakable Heart of Time – closely and carefully protected, a time and place waited to be freed, while three children wept, and were comforted by the human who had found his way into that lonely place. "It will be all right," he said softly. "You, yourselves told me there's hope." 

*** 

1010 to 1020 A.D. - Both Worlds:   
The worst part of the Timesplit was that FATE now knew her toy was trying to work against her. Only in the still whole Time's Heart, an area she had no access to and did not know existed, could the broken Flame connect with itself and get an idea of what was going on in both worlds. Janus was especially hampered in Another World, where he had to be extremely careful to seem utterly cowed by FATE's will. In Home World, on the other hand, he dared not make any obvious moves until Serge was old enough to act. 

At last, though, Another World's FATE made her expected move, forcing her Flame to drag the boy into her world. Janus wasn't sure what she intended to do with the boy, but by now he could do nothing but hope. 

*** 

1020 A.D.-Another World:   
Belthazar watched the battle in his library with interest. Serge, Kid and someone who looked so much like Janus' human form it was frightening found themselves forced into a fight with the rather temperamental Fourth Deva, Marcy. _She's strong, but letting a nine-year old be a Deva still doesn't seem like a good idea to me._

Despite Marcy's strength, however, Serge and his friends turned out just a bit stronger. Janus would, he thought, be glad to know that his one-time companion had grown up to be no less skilled, no less gallant and no less brave than the man who'd once been Guardia's premier Knight. It was, however, too soon to tell the boy anything. Serge would have to find his own way for a while longer. 

"You'll find a way up to the next floor with a switch," Belthazar told the group. "What you seek is there." 

*** 

As the door to the General's office opened, Serge found himself gazing into a light that seemed terribly familiar. Something, some distant and long lost memory was trying to establish itself and he thought he heard a voice in his mind. _You won't remember. But I _will_ know you._ The memory shifted to that terrible dream he'd had before this madness had begun, the dream where he'd killed Kid. The dream he'd had just before he'd been carried into a world where he ought not exist. Where he had died at seven. _Is this the Frozen Flame?_ he wondered, and sensed that though there was a relation, it was not. 

Forcing himself to the here and now, he prepared to face down Kid's enemy. Lynx frightened him, reminded him of a day so long ago that he could barely recall it. Reminded him of the claws of the cat that had nearly killed him. He clutched his dual bladed sword, seemed to feel encouragement from its presence and prepared to fight. 

They both won and lost. Lynx defeated was still a danger and when he used his dagger on Kid, throwing her into the waters below the manor, the group was forced to flee, to seek him out another day. 

*** 

At the center of Fort Dragonia, Lynx smiled. The Arbiter and his friends thought he was defeated. _But the time has come, brat. No longer shall FATE be mastered by mere humans._ As Serge drew close enough the cat-man focused his will on the Tear, demanding its obedience and commanding its power. 

The changeover was painful, agonizing even, but it did the job. Within moments their minds had switched. Lynx, now Serge, shouted that they had to finish Lynx off and Serge, trapped in the demi-human form, was too confused, too sentimental, to fight back. It was so easy, so very easy. 

"Wait Somethin's wrong" Kid's voice was troubled. 

"What are you waiting for! Kill him. Avenge Lucca and the others!" Lynx realized he'd erred as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Kid's expression shifted, became coldly suspicious and he felt for his belt knife. 

"I don't recall e'ver tellin' yer about Lucca," Kid growled, moving slowly forward. 

"Of course you did" 

"No. I don't know how you did it, Lynx" She glanced sideways at the demi-human struggling to raise himself, to warn her. It was a mistake, for Lynx used the moment to good effect, rushing forward and driving the blade deep into her. 

He wasn't sure why he decided to take the girl instead of killing her. Maybe it was her way of constantly surviving despite apparent death. Maybe it was because he thought he could find a way to control her in ways that he couldn't control the rather mercurial Harle, but he did. 

*** 

As Lynx disappeared with Kid, Harle considered the demi-human form of his former body. He'd have to be gotten rid of. She wasn't sure why she didn't kill him right away. _Non. He may be of zee use. He weel be seeking 'iz own form again. Eef he ees the man he seems, that eez. Zo! Now zat Master Lynx 'as what he needz, we must find a way to reach the Flame as weel, zo zat we may destroy FATE and take eet for ourselves._

Picking the unconscious body up, she carried him out of time and space. 

***   
1020 A.D. - Home World:   
Janus knew the approaching lifeform wasn't really Serge. For one thing, his Self on the other side of the Time Split had been able to warn him. For another, he had had the Masamune before he'd used it to block Serge's path, and that was an impossibility. Lynx was the only one who could carry that blasted thing without being badly affected by its aura of hate and anger. 

Still, the body that was approaching was very definitely Serge's and Janus knew that if it reached him its possessor would have the power of Arbiter over him. Thus he set up every interference he could, threw every one of Chronopolis defenses into stopping Lynx from making it to the island before the real Serge – fighting his way through Frozen Time – could reach him. It didn't work. Lynx was just too damned strong for those defenses, even in Serge's body. It was a terrible fight, but at long last the former demi-human stood before Janus. 

"Flame, I stand before you as Arbiter. Acknowledge me!" 

Janus screamed in pain as the force of the link hit him. He fought, dear god how he fought, but the bond that had kept him from obeying anyone but Glenn in that far away future forced him to obey this false Serge. At last, whimpering, weeping at his very heart, he whispered, "I acknowledge you Arbiter. What is your desire?" 

Lynx smiled. On Serge's face, with Serge's eyes, it was a horrible expression. "First. Use your power to rejoin your Self, and FATE, in the other timeline." 

Shuddering, Janus reached out, flinging power out with a prodigality he could ill afford. With a sharp twist he tugged Chronopolis entirely out of the one timeline and merged it into the second. Before he could get his breath, Lynx continued. "Now. Show me where my former body is." 

Janus trembled. He could feel the real Serge within his Self. He couldn't show them that, couldn't Despite his wishes, the image of Leene's square formed, showing Serge and his new companions talking to the human, Miguel, who'd been trapped there for so long. 

"Where is that?" 

A moment of hesitation. "It's reached through Frozen Time." Not a lie. Not the truth. His apparent unwillingness to speak convinced Lynx and kept him from asking a more probing question. 

"Then, if Frozen Time is destroyed, will it trap, or better yet, kill them?" 

"If time is permitted back Yes, they could be trapped in the chaos." Janus would have gritted his teeth if he could. Glaring hate at Lynx, though, seemed the only thing he could do. 

"Could be?" 

"They'd have to be carried out by air," Janus gasped angrily, even as a part of his mind loosed the Sky Dragon's bonds. ::_Save them, or FATE will be triumphant!_:: 

Lynx's voice might have been Serge's, but it was still a cat-like purr. "Then do it. Destroy the Frozen Sea." 

Regretfully, Janus obeyed. 

To Be Continued 

* * *

Author's Notes: 

As the story progresses, confusion will, I hope come to understanding. It's convoluted, I know, but I've tried very hard to make the pieces fit together. (cue: Schism.) 

Nasuka-kun Don't die Please don't die! I'll post, I promise! (SFX of Kosagi hiding under her computer with her fingers typing from under the desk.) Oh, Glenn's hair is blonde in the Cutscene at the end. I think it looked brown in the game itself, but (And am I the only one who thinks Serge's hair would stick straight up just like Glenn's does if it weren't for that bandanna of his?) 

Skahducky: Yeah, Glenn's eyes. I look at the image of Serge on the front of my game guide and they are the most incredible blue. Admittedly, it's impossible to be sure what Glenn's eyes would have been in Trigger. Oh, if no one noticed, Marge noticed the resemblance of those eyes way back when. That's why she thought Glenn was Serge's father. 

Darth: Now, now, Janus went to the trouble of putting the real Guardia out of harm's way two chapters ago. Unless things go hideously wrong at the end, he fully plans to put it back. Good enough? 

Let's see, further notes. This segment gets a little jumpy owing to the fact that I refuse to novelize the entirety of Chrono Cross. Bits and pieces of the upcoming sections were taken verbatim from the game and are based on a script by Sheamon and was found at GameFAQ. I've tried to be brief with the long speeches Time is short and we already have over 100 pages in this thing. 


	19. Defying FATE

The Fire When it Comes - Part 19: Defying FATE - In which FATE is not amused and another enemy rises.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown   
Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

FATE howled with laughter as her circuits slowly readjusted to the change. Now she could see into both worlds. Now, at long last, she was one. She might not be able to touch Home World yet, but that would change. Soon. Soon she'd have the entire world at her command. 

"Now, my pet. My darling, recalcitrant, pet. Now you will obey me perfectly." She focused her thoughts on her tool. "Well done, my Dark Serge. My Lynx that was. Now, destroy the Prometheus Code." 

Lynx/Dark Serge bowed. "As you command, my lady." He looked at the Flame. "Flame. I command you to find and destroy the Prometheus Code within FATE." 

Nothing happened. 

"FLAME!" 

There was no answer and turning her attention on the Flame she saw that it was at its utter darkest. _Dead?_ she reached out through her link to the Flame. _No. But so drained of energy that it may as well be._ "Damn it! It deliberately used itself up destroying the Sea." 

Dark Serge frowned. "What should I do, Mistress?" 

"It hopes for rescue from that brat. It did it to stall me. To thwart me! Very well. Seek out your former body and destroy it, before that one finds his way here." 

With a bow, her tool disappeared. 

*** 

1020 A.D. - Both Worlds:   
The time was close. The beings called the Dragon Gods could feel it. Could feel it in the flow of time. Could feel it in the way the power that held them in place had weakened. Without that power commanding the Elementals that had long guarded their infernal prison in this world, they could break free. 

::_Is it time?_:: 

::_Not quite yet. Bide a while longer._:: 

::_That one is weak. Without it, her power alone is not enough.:: _

::_It recovers quickly, ee'n though it hides the truth from Her. It will defend against us._:: 

::_There is our tool._:: 

::_She becomes untrustworthy. Her doubts make her weak. No. Wait but a while longer. That one seeks Her destruction as we do. Only then, when it is distracted by success, wilt the time be right._:: 

At last agreement was reached, a decision to help the Flame's tool, at least until it had completed its chosen task. 

*** 

1020 A.D. - Home World:   
Serge wasn't sure what it was that made him want to stop at the small island. He'd won the help of the dragons and it was high time he hurried to Steena and gained her aid as well. High time he took his own body again. Still, something was nudging him, an instinct that he'd learned to follow, to stop there. 

Accompanied by Karsh and Riddel – another part of that instinct – they found a young warrior who the two recognized as Dario, Karsh's fellow Deva and Riddel's chosen husband. A Dario strangely changed. A Dario who had – somehow – gotten his hands back on the Masamune. Remembering Karsh's agonized retelling of how his friend, at least on Another World, had attacked him under the Masamune's influence, Serge was not surprised to find himself facing the berserk warrior down. 

Driven by the maddened blade, Dario attacked his former friends and Serge with unrelenting power. In his hands, the Masamune's power seemed infinite, too great to be defeated, but somehow, they managed to win. 

Dario defeated was brought back to sanity, but more importantly, something else happened. Voices came from the Masamune. Two confused, boyish, voices. They seemed to be coming out of a long sleep, their minds cleared of hatred. At the same time another voice – shockingly, coming from his own weapon – began to scold them. 

Listening to the three, Serge felt another of those moments of familiarity. He ought to know who they were. Oh, they were calling each other by name – Masa, Mune, and Doreen – but that wasn't it. He never got to ask them anything though, for they seemed to come to some sort of agreement and suddenly he found his weapon, the swallow he had carried for so very long, starting to glow and burn. It had been changed and transformed to something much more powerful. 

::_We're with you, boss! With the Mastermune at your side the bad guys don't stand a chance!_:: 

*** 

TIME'S HEART:   
"She's beginning to suspect." 

"I know," Janus agreed, resting on one of the fallen pillars within his false Reality. "But I'm milking this for all its worth. She knows that I'm fighting her. Up until now she's thought I wasn't in a state of mind to hold a grudge. Now that she realizes I'm her enemy she won't rest until she has me entirely under her control." 

The three children looked at each other. "Then we had better hope Serge – the real Serge – gets here soon." 

Janus nodded. 

*** 

1020 A.D. - Home World:   
Serge stepped through the doors into the great chamber, Lynx's robes rustling around his body as he walked. His palms felt clammy and he was terribly afraid. What if it didn't work? What if the Dragon's Tear in this world wouldn't help? Was he to be stuck in this shape forever? He shook his head. No, he wasn't going to stop. Wasn't going to give up now. Too much rode on him now. The fate of two worlds. If there was anything he'd figured out in the last few, horrible, days, it was that much. 

A part of him would have liked to demand why _he_ was the one who had to do this, but that was the child part of him that he'd left long behind. _That part died when I read my own gravestone._ He stepped up to the altar at the center of the room and placed the Dragon's Tear upon it. 

Reaction was immediate. A voice began to speak. To tell a story, but not one he could fully comprehend. He had a feeling it was meant for others. A story told by dragons to their children. The story of humanity in this world, as seen from the eyes of those a bit closer to the earth. As seen through eyes that might not be tolerant of human frailty. As seen through eyes that had died off due to humanity. 

He listened and waited, focusing his will upon the Tear. His own shape. His own body. Let it be restored to him. Let him be Serge again. He closed his eyes and felt a regard upon him that seemed to be searching his very soul. A pain began. He was drowning, transforming. In that moment a memory returned, a face, pale, hard and urgent. A voice "I don't like children. So don't bother me and don't cry for your daddy" an angry voice, a desperately unhappy voice and he had once feared it. Yet at the same time he knew it and felt an immensity of pity and sorrow and loss. 

In another place and time, in yet another body not his own, _or was it?_, he faced FATE and the Flame and knew himself betrayed, only to come to a moment of understanding as it, in desperation, transformed him, wiped away his Self and sent him far, far away. A last thought echoed in his mind. _Goodbye until we meet again..._

There was a moment of confusion in his mind, but he was Serge, he _knew_ he was Serge. That other, whomever he was, was someone else. The cries of a baby filled his ears and they were his own. Then, slowly, he rose to his feet, himself again. 

Taking the remains of the Dragon Tear, he put it away with the other shard. It would be important, he sensed, perhaps the most important thing ever. Then he turned to rejoin his comrades. _And then, FATE, it's time we met._

*** 

1020 A.D. - Another World:   
FATE growled a curse at her tool under her breath. "Why is it you can't take that one brat human down?" she demanded of Lynx. "Now he's here, in Chronopolis, and it's only a matter of time before he makes his way to the Flame." 

"I'm sorry mistress. Shall I attack him now?" 

FATE, with part of her mind watching Serge's progress, eyed Lynx, then the Flame. It still seemed dark but she was fairly sure now that that darkness was a bluff, an attempt to pretend it was still incapable of response. Though she could not understand how, the Flame had a hidden agenda, a purpose that it had apparently been holding to despite everything she'd done to prevent it. Perhaps, then, this one too had an agenda beyond her own. 

Reaching out with her mind, she grasped Lynx to her and drove her thoughts into his brain, joining what little was left of his mind with her own will. _So. It seems he _was_ loyal after all. No matter, the closer he is to me, the better a tool he shall be._ Looking up through Lynx's eyes at her power source she spoke. "I know you can hear me, Flame. Wake up!" 

There was a keening sound and the Flame flared to brilliant life again. Not since before the time split had it glowed so and FATE knew it was back up to full power. "Good. Now, this is what I want you to do." 

*** 

Putting his palm on the door lock, Serge's memory flickered again, showing him another hand, slightly bigger, slightly older and much more scarred. He shook the memory off and focused on the now. Whatever else he was seeing didn't matter in this moment. As the door slid open he walked through, hands cold upon his newly strengthened weapon, heart beating double-time. 

The room was familiar too. The room of FATE that he'd seen in that moment of memory back at Fort Dragonia. At its center were the two glass globes that surrounded a blazing light that he recognized as the Frozen Flame. He stepped forward as Grobyc and Norris stared. "Is that" 

A voice spoke. It too was familiar, but for a different reason. It was Serge's own, echoing through the chamber with soft menace. "Exactly. The hearer of people's prayers... The provider of riches, fame, and power... The bestower of eternal life... The promiser of peace and happiness..." 

Light flickered and suddenly Serge found himself facing himself again, that dark and evil side that was Lynx. The former demi-human smiled as Serge noticed the figure lying on the floor between them. _Kid!_ Only good sense kept the young man from rushing forward to her side. 

"This is the essence of what descended from the heavens in the prehistoric age," Lynx continued, glancing upwards at the blazing light. "The living crimson stone... the Frozen Flame!" 

Serge eyed his enemy and waited. There'd be an opening, there had to be. Lynx raised a brow. "What took you so long? You had me worried. Worried that you might have perished on the way here." 

_Now that, I think, is a bluff. He hopes to make _me_ worry. Hopes I'll do something stupid like rush him. No. Not until I have an idea of what I'm fighting. This is FATE's place and she's the real power here._ He moved, however, ever so slowly and watchfully, to kneel beside Kid. She was breathing, her heart pulsing, but her eyes remained closed, even when his fingers brushed her throat. _Damn._

Lynx laughed. "It's no use. I put her soul to sleep. I had to remove any potential obstacle from us having this talk." 

It was Grobyc who demanded, "Who _are_ you!? What are you after!?" 

The former demi-human laughed. "You still don't know? I am the human incarnation of FATE... The living interface of the FATE computer system... Or put simply... I, too, _am_ FATE!" As the three young men stared at him, Lynx continued, glee in his voice, telling the story of a fateful night fourteen years earlier. A night Serge barely remembered, when he had been dying of a feral cat's poison and his father and his father's best friend had set out to search for help in the middle of a storm. 

That storm had forced them into the Sea of Eden and to a Chronopolis that had been forced off-line by the lightning. In the few minutes between FATE's blackout and her coming back online, the Flame had found Serge and had connected itself to him, making Serge the one person who could command its power. When FATE woke again, it was to find herself unable to control the Flame. 

Worse, FATE was unable to act against the Flame's Arbiter. There was a program, hidden within her system, that prevented her from doing any harm to humanity, that commanded her to help. More, that same code forced her to obey the Arbiter's will entirely. With her access to the Flame gone, that program blockaded her efforts to re-establish control. 

"Still, we now know that the program was there, and now" Lynx turned to the Flame. "Bring out the traitor, Prometheus..." 

*** 

Janus sighed, drawing out the patterns of code that Lucca had created, in a long distant time and place, for another world entirely. Those codes had been copied and improved upon by Belthazar, until they formed a small sentience hidden deep within FATE's mind. As Lynx/FATE had said, a traitor or a rebel. 

Allowing Prometheus access to the speaker had been part of FATE's requirements, but Janus had another purpose as well. He prompted the tiny program, told it what Serge needed to hear, what he himself could not say. 

Prometheus sighed and Janus could feel his sorrow and his agreement with Janus' need. Greeting Serge, he said nothing of the Flame's full intentions, nothing of what the Flame required. Instead – as Janus had asked – he simply pleaded that Serge do what he could to help stop the battle between the dragons and FATE. He was cut short quickly as Lynx made his next command. 

"Eliminate him." FATE ordered through Lynx. 

_I am sorry, Prometheus. So very sorry._ Janus thought as he spoke aloud, unable to fight the orders he'd already been given. "Affirmative. Now eliminating Prometheus." 

The boy Janus remembered as Eike gasped in protest. "NO!" 

Somehow, even as Janus was wiping the last bits of code out of FATE's programming, Prometheus managed to gasp a few last words. "Serge... P-Please... For the future of mankind... F-For... th-the... f-fu...ture... o..." 

There was a long moment of silence. FATE because she wanted to gloat, Serge and the others out of stunned shock and sorrow. Even the cyborg, whom Janus thought he recognized as having once been Reiken, appeared moved. Janus himself would have been shrieking curses at FATE if she hadn't ensured his relative silence. 

At last, FATE/Lynx laughed. "Idiot. Destruction to those who oppose the Goddess of Fate!" As Serge's companions prepared to attack, Lynx smiled. "Hah... Come, Serge! Show me what the purpose of your life on this planet is... Teach me what it means to be "alive!!!" Then she took Lynx's body entirely and transformed it to a huge metallic form, attacking the three. 

Janus growled under his breath, unable to act or help. Unless and until FATE fell he was bound to obey her now, and her orders – through the false Arbiter – had been not to interfere. Then he noticed something that made him smile to himself. 

*** 

FATE laughed as she struck her enemies over and again, magics blasting the three humans in every way she had available to her. She didn't even need to use the Flame on them, she thought. Determinedly she flung power into the fight, tossing the three across the room with ease. 

Yet somehow she seemed to be weakening. She couldn't understand it. What was happening to her? ::_FLAME, why are you not helping me?_:: 

::_For one thing, you order me not to interfere. For another The Dragons are no longer bound to their islands in either time. They gather their power together and plan to attack. Shall I let them?_:: There was a strange tone to that voice, a harsh mockery that she had never heard in its voice before. The frightened innocence was gone, replaced by cold hatred. In that moment she knew the Flame for her true enemy and felt a moment of fear. 

Realizing that to command the Flame's help in that moment would be the greater of two evils, FATE concentrated her attacks on the three before her. After all, they were just human and she was FATE, all-powerful and all-knowing. They would fall 

A scream of unbelieving pain started in the base of her non-existent throat as she felt the last of her strength dropping away under attack from a force of pure Yellow magic. One of the Elementals, she realized, the ones that had been guarding the dragons. No wonder the dragons were nearly free. The energies shifted and now it was the Black Elemental, thrown by the cyborg. Then, in a blow that left her sprawled and helpless, the White Elemental blasted her across the room and tore her metallic body free of the flooring. 

Fleeing that body and sending her mind into the depths of her machinery seemed the only recourse. She broke free of the metal, flying back for the safety of her main system, only to find the way blocked. 

In a place that was simply electrons, two forces faced each other. "I don't think so," the Flame said. "You're done." 

"Get out of my way! I ORDER you to get out of my way!" 

There was a harsh bark of laughter from the Flame. "Nope. You can't order me now. You're not the Arbiter anymore. Remember? You transformed yourself out of that shape. And you're not really FATE right now either, since you're not part of the main computer." 

She couldn't believe it. "Sophistry" 

"Oh dear. Didn't think I was capable of it? _YOU_ have been. It's how you got your way for so long. Now, old woman, it's my turn." 

"Why? Why are you doing this. We could rule the world." 

"Oh, now you try to reach my venal side? Sorry, old woman. I don't have one. There's only one thing I want and you've been a blockade to that for over ten thousand years now." The Flame chuckled. "You've made your last mistake, old woman. Oddly enough, it's the same as your first one. Your _very_ first one." 

FATE couldn't understand what the Flame meant. "First mistake?" 

"I know who you are. Who you really are. Those modules they found in Porre? They weren't pieces of another FATE from an earlier loop in time. Nor were they pieces of a Mother Computer from a timeline long dead and buried. No. They were from another complex entirely. You should never have taken that form, Zeal, should never have let me see you in a remotely human body. I recognized you. Recognized your mannerisms." 

Gasping, FATE faltered. How did it know? How _could_ it know? "Who ARE you?" 

"Your mistake was simple. Of all the beings upon this world, I am one who knows you best and hates you most. You should never have thought that I would cooperate with you, not after what you did to me, what you did to my sister MOTHER!" 

Stammering, shocked into sudden understanding, FATE – who once in a mortal life had feared death and longed for world control so greatly that she had used the power of Lavos to bind her very self within a deathless machine – whispered, "Janus? You?" She remembered now. Remembered his appearance that day he'd helped the Flame break her control. She'd not seen him since, though she had searched. Now, too late to do anything about it, she understood. 

"Yes. I. You tried to absorb a piece of Lavos into yourself and I was born of that union. Whether or not I had a human father as well doesn't matter. I am Lavos' child, its heir, if you will. From the day you first summoned Lavos and stole my sweet sister from me, to the day you forced me to betray my greatest friend, to _this_ time and _this_ place when you face MY chosen champion – that friend transformed, I am your enemy." 

"Janus I never I only wanted" She tried to reach out to him. To touch him. To somehow change his mind, but in that mind she could see only determination. 

"I've spent millennia listening to your ranting. I only wish I could return the favor, but I have no time. Goodbye, mother." There was a final flare of energy. Then nothing. 

*** 

1020 A.D. - Both Worlds:   
It was done. FATE was destroyed. They could feel her death through their tool. Could feel the last dregs of power fade from their prison. In the depths of the Sea of Eden they sensed their tool, and the girl from whom Harle had been copied, facing off over the Frozen Flame. 

It came as no surprise that their tool tried to stop Kid. Her fears and torn loyalties had been growing from the day the two had – for a brief moment – mixed thoughts and purposes when they'd been thrown through time by their twin necklaces. Nor was it a problem, for even as Harle's purpose had been confused, so too had Kid's. Where Harle could not be used, Kid could. 

As Kid caught up the Flame, Harle flew forward to stop her, only to be blasted by the power the Dragons were putting through Kid. That same power struck the Flame and clutched it tight. 

::_FATE has fallen... Fate has died..._:: 

::_Finally, the time has come..._:: 

::_Indeed... The long, endless night shall finally come to an end._:: 

::_Now... For mankind..._:: 

::_I shall make you bleed!!!_:: 

::_Feel a million years of this planet's pain and suffering!_:: 

Rising into the air, breaking the barrier of Time, the dragons joined together and flew to capture the Flame. 

To Be Continued

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Alexial: In the game I think Kid helped Evile Serge because he brain burned her somehow. She certainly acted like it. So that's why she ends up on E.Serge's side in this story. Serge as Glenn, well, I had to find a way to keep the Hero of Legend involved in the story yet not take the glory away from the main character. Only way seems to be to make him be the main character without his knowing it. SquareSoft helped out by putting that line in about coming from the sea and returning to it. (I know, it probably means coming and going to the Sea of Dreams, but) Anyway, at least he *isn't* a frog anymore. And yes, that's why I used Glenn in the rescue scene earlier. I *told* you Serge was rescuing her from a memory. grin 

Nasuka-chan: Kowaiiiiiiii desu! (still hiding under the desk and trying to type.) Whether the ending is good or not is something you'll have to decide when you reach it. Suffice to say, Kosagi is a sentimentalist. (Janus: I have another few names for her, too.) Speed well the main work *is* done. A few rough spots here and there that I clean up before posting, but in general This is the first time I've posted a fic that wasn't complete when I started the posting, so it's been an interesting week or so. Especially those three 4 hour long writing sessions in the middle of the night last week. What happened to Janus? He's still there. And much happier now that he's dealt with mama dearest. 

Let's see. 

That dadnabit Masamune. I don't don't don't know how it got to Dario. Don't ask me. The FAQ says it went to him after the Sea was destroyed. Obviously it found its way there. (shakes head and tries to avoid the hole in the plot).

The Flame/Janus playing dead. Only explanation *I* could find for not destroying the Prometheus code sooner. Otherwise FATE was even stupider than usual villains. If she'd destroyed the code as soon as Lynx got to her then she would have had no trouble taking over completely. Didn't anyone ever tell her not to play with her food?

FATE as Zeal Eh heh That's entirely my take on it. SquareSoft probably didn't mean her to have any relation to her loonieness. Yet another of those dramatic bits intended to give a character a chance to do something they've wanted to do. (Janus: I didn't get to throttle her, though, drat it all.) 

I know, I know. In the game you'd never be able to throw all three elements like that. *shrug* I like sturm und drang.

So... We're about at the end. Two more chapters and we'll be there. (Waves another flag of thanks to Skahducky, just because. It's nice to still get reviews from you!)


	20. The Dragon God's Vengeance

The Fire When it Comes - Part 20: The Dragon God's Vengeance – In which Serge does a lot of climbing and learns an important truth.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown   
Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. 

* * *

1020 A.D. - Another World:   
Janus cursed himself for wasting so much time on dealing with FATE. _One would think I'd have learned from her mistake and not waste my time gloating!_ He struggled against the mental cage that had been wrapped around him, testing the Dragon God's power. Joined, they were a hell of a lot stronger than they'd been separated and they exuded confidence and determination. 

_There's no arguing with them. No making them understand. They're just like Azala. Or perhaps worse, because Azala had a people to protect and all they want is vengeance._ Janus stopped fighting, noting the Dragon God was carrying him back to Terra Tower – the structure that had once been Dinopolis. _I'm a fine one to blame them for wanting that, but at least _I_ got over myself. _

::_They can't hold you for long._:: Crono pointed out. ::_And the longer they're busy trying to deal with you, the more time Serge has to do something about them._:: 

::_And if that boy doesn't try to stop the Dragon God, I don't know my knights in shining armor,_:: Marle added. ::_Crono would. Glenn would. Serge will._:: 

::_And when he does, we'll be ready to help,_:: Lucca added, determinedly. ::_It's time he was told things._:: 

::_As long as he takes care of Kid, that's all I care about._:: Janus answered, and resumed his struggles – not so much to escape as to occupy the Dragon God's time and keep its attention. ::_Kid and Schala_:: 

*** 

Serge gazed around the Dragon Temple Falls with a sense of awe. In his hands were the two broken shards of the Dragon's Tear, one from each world. Before him stood two altars, gleaming in a strange diffuse light. 

_Steena said I should do this. I'm not sure what good it will do, but_ He walked forward, put the shards on the two altars and waited. For a moment nothing seemed to happen. Then a sound, a chord of such richness, and such power flowed around him that he thought he'd be thrown to his knees. As he stepped back, startled, the shards rose in the air. A final, ringing note that seemed to be formed of all the others rang out and suddenly he was holding something like, yet unlike the shattered Dragon's Tear. The shape, in fact, was almost like a Frozen Flame itself. 

Something made him equip the thing, treating it like an element. He wasn't sure why he did so, but it seemed right, nonetheless. He wasn't sure what it would do if he used it, wasn't at all sure he should try, but at least it was there. 

Turning to go, he found Norris hurrying up the path to find him. "Serge, I think we need you. Kid won't wake up!" 

*** 

Kid floated in a nightmare. A memory half-forgotten, a dream of place and time too unbearable to remember, forced on her by all her pain and loss and by the use she'd been put to. The flames rose around her and she faced down her enemy again, knowing from his words that he meant harm to her Big Sis. Knowing she had no way in which to fight. 

Then _he_ was there. He flickered in her memory, sometimes blonde, sometimes black-haired, his face older, then younger, but always with those same kind blue eyes. The eyes of one who feared for her. The eyes of one who cared. 

Rescued from the fire she clung to him, heard him promise to stay with her, only to fade away. 

*** 

Sitting up sharply, Kid gasped. She was lying in a bed in an unfamiliar place, while well remembered blue eyes met hers. _Nah, he can't be_ It was a coincidence, that was all. Her memory, as usual, was playing tricks, trying to make her think that Serge was the knight who'd rescued her from Lucca's burning home. 

"Here I have this for you," Serge said, holding out an element. It was Lucca's work, a perfect fit to her power, and he smiled. "I'm not sure how I got it, but I think it belongs to you." His face turned serious. "And you may need it. We have to stop the dragons now, before they kill everyone." 

*** 

It took much longer than Serge liked to make their way to Terra Tower. They'd had to find a device that could make a ship fly – a task only possible because of their strange alien friend – then Starky had had to install it. At last, however, there was only one decision left. Who was to go. 

Norris and Grobyc – who had turned out to be Kid's former companions as the Radical Dreamers – had begged for the honor, but in the end Serge decided on himself, Kid and – for reasons he was at a loss to explain – Guile. There was something about the masked gambler that made Serge think that he, especially, should be there for the end. 

The fight through Terra Tower was another long slog. Down and up and down and up, and sideways just for variety. Serge was becoming rather tired of the whole thing by the time he stepped through a doorway and onto a path that should not have been there. 

Beneath the two moons, the western tower of Viper Manor, a place that should have been far away from there, gleamed. "What's going on?" Kid said. "This is but it can't be" 

"Shall we find out?" Guile asked. "There doesn't seem to be anywhere else to go." 

*** 

Belthazar waited in the false seeming of his library in Viper Manor, a place created temporarily by the Flame, to await Serge and his companions. Three young children waited as well, watching the doorway with ill-concealed anticipation. 

When Serge and the others entered, Belthazar couldn't help but smile with relief. They'd made it this far, he had to believe they'd make it the rest of the way. More, Serge carried the Chrono Cross, the once broken shards of Janus' missing power, made whole again. 

Coming forward, he looked into Serge's eyes and saw the determination that not even transformation, not even rebirth, could take away. Now he truly believed they had hope. "Hello Serge. I know you're surprised to find me here, but I have much I need to tell you." 

Slowly, carefully, Belthazar worked through the story of how FATE had come to be and who the Dragon Gods were. The rest would have to wait until Serge had faced the Dragon God and regained the Flame. When he was done, Crono spoke up, telling Serge about the thing he carried, "By using it as an Element, it has the power to draw on the sounds of the six colored Elements to produce a healing harmony... It has the power to combine the sounds of the world into one melody..." 

*** 

Janus had ended turning his power on the Dragon God. His own power had grown immensely in the last few hours, for time, combined with his freedom from FATE's machines, had granted him a respite he'd not had for what seemed forever. He listened, hearing the howls of pain and anger from the Dragon Gods, holding back their attack, and he waited. 

::_Shut the hell up._:: Janus growled at the six minds screaming at him. ::_If you'd ever bothered to listen to any path other than your own narrow one you'd know why this has to be._:: It had been that lack of adaptability that had ensured the reptite's deaths in this timeline. Only in a universe where things didn't change so fast, where the environment didn't turn on its inhabitants occasionally, could such a species survive. Here, in this world, their ways simply didn't and couldn't work. 

At last he could feel Serge approach and with the boy, he recognized something else, something vital to his very being and to his plan. He smiled to himself. At last their chance had come. 

As the three figures stepped onto the platform high atop Terra Tower and approached him he took a deep breath. It was time. He spoke, not bothering to conceal his voice behind a guise of humanity, gazing directly at the three with every one of his myriad 'eyes'. "Welcome humans... Those who know the torment and joy of creation know also the pleasure and pain of destruction. Therefore, all that pass through here must be prepared to share the burden that I carry..." 

"Strewth! So this is the Frozen Flame!" Kid's voice was awed, and a little bit frightened. 

It was Serge who stepped forward, reaching out confidently, despite Kid's warning cry. But it wasn't time yet. Janus still needed to keep the Dragon God from getting its full power and he sent a small wave of power at the three, knocking them down, even as he released his hold on the Dragon God. 

*** 

There was a flash of light and Serge was thrown backwards to the ground. After a stunned moment, he sat up slowly, barely attending the Dragon God's ranting or Kid's ranting back. Instead he listened to some inner voice. _At last. It's almost time_ He wasn't sure what the voice meant. He wasn't sure why the Flame had pushed him back, but some inner confidence told him that it would not desert him. 

Then _it_ was there, an immense dragon like creature that howled rage and anger at him. A creature that seemed to blame humanity for every wrong done in the universe. He wanted to scream at it, to tell it that it was wrong, but he'd seen enough to know it was – at least in part – right. It was Kid who reminded him of the other truth, shouting at the Dragon God, "Whether there's meanin' to our lives or not... we still go on livin', you know! You've got no right to deny that!" 

_Ist not a matter of right or wrong. Ist not a matter of sin or innocence. All of us, each and every one, liveth as best they can in a world that ist not always kind, not always fair._ The thought wasn't his and yet it was. His voice and yet not. _We art what things that our lives hath given us. Ist not fair, but ist the way things are._ Though put in words he would not have used, the sentiment was very much his own. 

Another thought touched his mind and he knew it for the Flame. _Fairness is a concept _we_ impose upon the world, not the other way around. The world simply is what it is. No accolades and no blame. Now, enough with the philosophy, ware the beast._

*** 

Kid felt a strange connection to the creature before them. Somehow something inside it was trying to reach her, to tell her something. She couldn't hear the words, but something made her pay close attention to the fight, to note every attack it chose. There was a sense of agreement, an awareness that – somehow – that part of the Dragon God that had once been Harle was giving her a very important clue. 

So she fought, seeing how the attacks changed, how the beast seemed to be transforming itself from one element to the next. Yellow to red to green to blue to black and, at last, to white. More, with every attack, every spell they or the beast cast, she seemed to hear the notes of a song. A melody that was not quite right, interfered with by the many spells they'd had to cast. Yet it was there, singing in her mind, quivering through her soul and filling her with a longing to hear it and hear it played through. 

Then the battle was over and the beast lay quivering on the platform. As she prepared to strike it with a final blow, however, it lifted itself with one last effort. "Now I shall truly awaken again... This too is destiny..." it gasped, then disappeared. 

"What th" Guile shook his head. "This is getting confusing." His eyes were troubled, as if something about the Flame bothered him immensely. 

Movement from behind a pillar made the three spin around. Belthazar stood there, smiling wryly and began to explain further. By the time he was done Kid thought her head was going to explode with the information. The name Lavos sent chills through her and made her tremble. The knowledge that the Dragon God was somehow part of that force terrified her. Yet something had to be done. She didn't know how, or why, but something had to be done. 

The Flame spoke then, directing its attention on Serge in a way that seemed nearly possessive, as if there was something between him and the thing that could never be comprehended and never destroyed. "Now, go to the place where time became divided and weave the threads of time together again... Chrono Trigger!" With a flash of light, the Flame was gone. 

*** 

TIME'S HEART:   
"Are you sure you don't want us to tell him" Lucca asked. 

"What good would it do? I am a piece of Lavos, a thing of dire and uncontrollable power. What I want may not be trustworthy, ought not be, in fact, lest one who follows thinks to use me to make their futures brighter still." Janus looked at the three and smiled inwardly. 

They looked doubtful and Janus laughed, wryly and not a little sadly. "Besides, though transformed and reborn, Serge's soul is still Glenn's, and Glenn was a knight, a True Knight. A Perfect Knight, without peer and beyond reproach." His smile broadened, until the blazing blue and red fire within the false reality filled the entire sky, "And what True Knight would refuse to storm the dark tower, face down the foulest beast, and rescue the stolen Princess from her Durance Vile?" 

*** 

1020 A.D. - Another World:   
Serge didn't have to think hard to know where the Flame meant for him to go. Opassa Beach, the place where he'd nearly drowned. The place where he'd been sucked off into this other world. His fingers slid across the surface of the Time Egg Belthazar had given them, worry tightening his grip. 

Among his elements, the Chrono Cross seemed to hum softly to itself. Something had changed about it. Something deep and central to its very being. There appeared to be a reddish note to its light. He knew what it was, too, or at least he was fairly sure. The Flame had merged with it, in a binding that seemed to him to be both right and necessary. He didn't know why, but he trusted it, trusted its presence and its purpose. He remembered what Kid had said about what she'd learned in their last fight, about the song she'd heard, and began to understand what was expected of him, if not quite why. 

"Hey" Guile's voice was startled as they stepped onto the beach and found themselves staring at three familiar figures. Those kids, the ones Serge had met in Time's Heart. The ones who'd been with Belthazar in the Tower. Ghosts and yet not, they watched him and waited for his approach. At the center of their group a vortex had formed and he knew where it led and to what. 

The dark haired girl stepped forward and began to speak. "So you finally made it, Serge..." she said and the three began to tell a story. He'd come to understand much of it already, understood how he'd become Arbiter, and why. The story of Schala, however, of her entrapment by Lavos and her hopes and fears and dreams of freedom, was new. That part startled and moved him and he felt a deep need to do something about it. 

That Kid was Schala's clone was an unpleasant surprise for Kid, who didn't seem to much like the idea. It didn't bother Serge as much, in fact it seemed somehow right, some circle coming back in upon itself. 

At last it was the boy who spoke, and his words were the hardest for Serge to bear. He was very glad he hadn't known before, hadn't been told. To know that the person who wanted him dead, who wanted him removed from the timeline entirely had been his father, transformed and reshaped into a soul of purest hatred, was a searing agony. "Humans are such fragile, disjointed, imperfect things," the boy said at last, "Love and hate... Life and death... Perhaps even FATE itself dreamed of using the Flame to some day reincarnate itself into a new species." His voice softened, seemed to merge with the others as they faded. "It is quite sad, really... It's like when you gaze into the Flame, the Flame gazes back into you." Then they were gone. 

Serge glanced at the others, silent and waiting for their decision. When they nodded, he walked forward the vortex. 

To Be Concluded 

* * *

Author's Notes: 

Skahducky: I'm just glad you were able to look at it. I think your comments helped a lot! 

Alexiel: So _that's_ where that particular reaction of Guile's was supposed to have happened. In the process of looking up info on Cross for playing I'd found a list of everyone's reaction to the Flame and Guile's reaction had been part of what inspired me to make Janus be the Flame and his human remains become Guile. After which, I never could find the dang FAQ with that info again. *sigh* Anyway, he (Guile) is currently a very scared little human right now. Maybe I _will_ find a reason to write an side-story for him. 

So, I'm pretty much done with the story. One more chapter to go and I can't think of a good reason not to post it at the same time I post this one. In other words What are you doing reading this silly blabber? GO AND READ THE END! 


	21. What the Prophet Seeks

The Fire When it Comes - Part 21: What the Prophet Seeks – In which Serge storms a final tower and a prophecy is fulfilled.   
A Crono-Trigger/Cross fanfic   
By   
Deborah J. Brown   
Chrono-Trigger & Chrono-Cross and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft.   


* * *

OUTSIDE OF TIME:   
::_NO! Go! Do not do this thing_:: 

It was a voice only Janus could hear. The howling terror of Lavos, infected with life – Schala's life – and wanting to live. Her screams of hate and fury were mixed in that voice and the anguish it caused Janus nearly made him falter. The long millennia of interacting with this world had given Lavos an awareness, a sense of self. With that sense of self came the fear of dissolution. The fear of death and endings. 

::_Leave me be! I don't want to_:: 

Somehow Janus forced himself to stay calm, to hold his purpose, focusing all his will upon the force that was the soul of Lavos. Lavos' soul and his sister's. ::_You may not want it, but it is time, my sire,_:: he thought back. ::_This is not the place for you. Not the world for you._:: 

The awareness focused on Janus, its force almost more than he could bear. This, he realized, was what he was like to humans, a vision and knowledge far beyond anything a mortal mind was meant to bear. ::_FOOL!_:: it hissed at him. ::_I could give you eternity! You are but a broken shard of my very Self and I could make you whole. Come back to me. Join with me. Become me. Together we shall merge with Time for all eternity and make it ours!_:: Sensing weakness, Lavos continued. ::_If you do this thing you will become as nothing, all your energy spent, thy powers no more than any mortal man_:: 

The pressure was immense as Lavos made him see. Infinite possibilities, infinite power, infinite mastery. The temptation was equally infinite, nearly overpowering. Only one thing, or rather three, held him to his course. Memories coursed through him, flung at him through the wills of the three he'd absorbed and joined with. 

::_You were born among the Enlightened, the only one without power,_:: Crono said softly. ::_Your own kind feared you. Feared the knowledge in your eyes._:: 

::_Only your sister cared. Only your sister mattered._:: Marle added. ::_And Lavos took her away._:: 

::_For that, you sought vengeance, not just upon the world but upon Lavos itself._:: Lucca told him. ::_A vengeance you gained at last, though not in the way you'd hoped. A vengeance that had no savor, for the one who mattered most was lost._:: 

::_You have transformed time and been transformed by it._:: 

::_You have sundered time and been sundered by it._:: 

::_You have sacrificed others and been sacrificed yourself._:: 

Janus shuddered under the force of their words, under the force of the memories they recalled. Then from elsewhere, another voice spoke, its tone both new and old. ::_Thou art thyself and none other. Through fear and pain and loss ye hath fought. For thy sister, for me, and for the world. Thou hast been as a god. Wast all that in vain?_:: 

::_GLENN?_:: 

::_Here in this place, in this time, for this last battle_:: He heard Serge chuckle softly, even as he fought to cast the next element in the sequence. ::_Here I remember, here I understand. And here I both forgive and thank thee._:: 

Stunned to silence, Janus 'looked' up at Serge's face, saw the calm determination that had always been the heart of the knight, no matter what form he took. Serge continued, glancing his way, ::_Do what must be done, as I do. Ist time to make an end._:: 

No more words were said, no more were needed. Janus turned his attention on Lavos, even Serge and his companions set the last note in the melody. ::_All this I have done,_:: he said, flinging his entire knowledge and memories at Lavos, forcing the giant back. ::_All this and more. All to one purpose. All to this one thing._:: Throughout time, throughout all reality, he felt the force of the song, felt it echo across the void from the world of the dragons, felt other places and other times facing Lavos down in countless forms. All came together in this place outside time. ::_The chick fears the cracking of the shell. The babe its moment of birth. The beast fears the opening of its cage. But now it is time for the prisoner to be freed._:: 

So saying, he caught the notes of the song and drew them into a single note of purest harmony. Six notes became one, a sound that pierced the bonds that held Lavos to time and Schala to Lavos. ::_Go, my sire. Go in peace and be what you once were._:: 

In the silence that followed, the world seemed to shatter around them. 

*** 

Serge _Or am I Glenn? T'is so confusing_ shuddered, eyes flickering open as he stared up at the woman floating down towards him. A voice was speaking. Hers? Or His? It seemed like it was both, Schala and Janus' voices, melding into something very like a poem. "I have been waiting an eternity... just for this very moment... " Words that spoke of death and life, of pain and loss, but – more importantly – of hope. She reached out, moving towards him. 

"Each life-form that attempts to eke out a decent life for itself forms a link in the golden chain that leads to the creation of a new universe. If one link is missing, there will be no future." She reached out, touched Serge's face, gazing into his eyes with perfect intensity, as if burning his features into her memory. "Eventually all dreams will return to Zurvan... to the sea of dreams... " 

It was fading. All of it. They were returning to time and Serge sensed that the Flame was drawing the lines of the two worlds together, focusing them down into a single, cohesive, stream that nothing could ever again tear asunder. That the Flame – that Janus – was carefully picking and choosing what was best about each world, so that lives lost or injured in one line and not in the other might be whole once more. It would not be a paradise, but it would be better than it had been. 

Schala stretched out her hand, aching sadness in her eyes. "I'll find ya... Sometime... somewhere... I'm bloody sure of it! No matter the time period, no matter the world ya live in, I'll find ya! I'm sure... I am sure I will..." 

Serge reached down and slid the Flame free of its place among his elements, releasing it releasing _him_. ::_Goodbye, my friend. Though I forgetteth thee, I think a part of me will remember you always_:: As the world faded in around him he felt a wordless touch that said more than anything else. Then reality returned and memory left. 

*** 

For the briefest moment, Janus paused to look at Guile, at the body that had once been his. He could feel that one's fear and understood it. ::_No. You and I have parted ways. You have your life, as I will have my own. I do not begrudge you the flesh that I once wore. Go, live well, and have more fun with it than I did._:: 

Eyes not at all like his own had been gazed back at him, locked on his for that one moment. Then, with only the smallest of regrets, Janus sent Guile home. 

At last, Serge and Guile sent on, he turned to face his sister. 

*** 

In the silence of that place out of time, two beings gazed at each other. Schala, still confused and bewildered by all that had happened, her mind melding with Kid's and her memories of her long imprisonment fading to a peculiar kind of distance. They could not be truly forgotten, but their pain and sorrow could and had to be. 

Still, there was plenty of pain and sorrow in this moment. Pain sorrow and a certain level of anger. The Flame. It was all that was left of Lavos and she knew enough of what it was to know it for a danger and risk, the more so because it seemed to have been behind all that had happened, manipulating matters towards this final moment. Her memories as Kid, her sense of the world's pain all tied up in this thing. 

"You are angry with me." 

It startled her. The voice, so filled with power and a kind of glory, also held a confused sadness, as if the speaker didn't understand _why_ she was angry. _And how could it? It's a part of Lavos. It can't comprehend human needs, human emotions. I know that from It._ "So many lives," she said softly. "So many losses. Why did it have to be this way? All that for my freedom?" 

"Everything I have done I have done for _you_." The voice surged with anger suddenly. "I have turned the world upside down, sacrificed life, friendship and time itself, all to this moment." 

She looked at the thing, forced herself to look into myriad agonized and aching eyes. "I did not ask it of you. And I do not understand why." 

Something was happening around the Flame. It was changing, reshaping, taking a human form. A man, tall, white haired, with ruby eyes and a face hard and self-contained, a face that had seen eternity and held its secrets. It was a familiar face, none the less, _Lucca's friend_ "Could I leave you to languish within my Sire's grasp when I had the power to change it all?" 

He stepped forward, and became younger, a man dressed in the robes of the Prophet who had so taken up her mother's attention in those days before the Fall. "Could I let time itself shatter into nothingness for the sake of keeping _all_ from harm?" 

Then another step and it was a youth in armor, dark magics flaring around him. A young man, tears pouring down an achingly sad face. Something about that face made her stare, a name on her lips. "Could I do anything but sacrifice myself and my only friends to this purpose? For this very moment? 

At last, as he stood within her reach, a small, unhappy, child gazing up at her. She stared at him and understanding came. "You have been everything to me," the child's voice said. "Substitute mother, sister, friend. How could I do anything _but_ give myself over to millennia of entrapment, millennia of bondage to our mother's madness?" 

"JANUS!" Falling to her knees, she drew him to her. 

*** 

Laying his head on Schala's shoulder, Janus wept. In all the many dragging aching years to this time he had shed few tears, holding back anger, pain and sadness in the interests of completing his goals. Now he simply let it go, let the tears flow, her arms around him as they used to be, when he had been a real child, when the nightmares had refused to let him sleep. When his fear had grown too great. For that moment, at least, there was comfort. In this place, outside of time, it could have gone on forever. 

At last, however, something in his mind went, ::_Ahem._:: 

::_Not that we like interrupting such a sweet moment, but_:: 

::_Have you forgotten something?_:: 

He jerked upright, body reverting to its natural form. "Janus? What is it? What's wrong?" Schala reached out, touched him. "Not not Lavos" 

"No, I just" He laughed, a deep, rich laugh. "Come I'll show you!" 

Shifting their location was easy. A moment later they hung over the continent of Guardia, the land still lifeless, uninhabited after the terrible night ten years earlier. 

"Guardia Home" It was Schala's memories as Kid that spoke, and that was well enough. Her sorrow was a blade that cut at them both. "Why here? Why" 

"Wait" Janus reached into himself, into that part of his Self that had so long contained the true Guardia. _Now what to do with the fake?_ A thought occurred to him, the question of where Zenan had come from after all. As he slowly replaced the seeming with the reality, he sent the seeming backwards in time, providing material with which his earlier Self could build Zenan and the Archipelago. 

He heard Schala's gasp of shock as the Castle wavered into sight, then Truce. Finally the people appeared, staring around in puzzlement far below them, for a moment before it had been night and they had been under attack. A final touch, not quite as easy because he had to create it out of scratch, and to the south of the continent a small building reshaped itself. Then, at last, he released his friends, placing them in Lucca's kitchen, the room he remembered best. ::_You won't really remember this, except as a story told to another,_:: he told them. ::_But you'll remember it happened, at least._:: 

"JANUS!" Schala caught him as he started to fall. His energy was nearly gone. Only one thing was left to do. 

*** 

Finding herself floating down towards the orphanage, Schala clutched the dimly flickering Flame to her. Her joy at seeing Guardia returned was nothing compared to her fear for her brother's life. Had he made the final sacrifice? 

Something was happening to him. Even as they reached the ground the Flame was changing. First the child, then the mage, the prophet and – at last – the wanderer. His eyes opened, their color the old bright ruby she remembered so well. "It's all right," he said. "I'm sealed. No more Flame. No more time travel. I'm still not human, but" 

"But we won't have to worry about anyone using you to destroy what you've done," Schala whispered. She stepped back, looking at the man her brother had become. He was taller than she, now, tall and "You could have put a bit more weight on those bones, though. You need to start eating better." 

His laughter was cut short as three figures stepped out of the orphanage and Schala suddenly found herself surrounded. It was Lucca who embraced her, with a muttered, "We are going to have to talk about your behavior, young lady. Radical Dreamers indeed!" Then Crono and Marle were holding her tight as well. 

"I've put the thought into the other kids' minds. They'll be here soon a few days at most." Janus said, voice weary. "And they'll be glad to see all of you." 

Schala looked over Lucca's shoulder and smiled. 

*** 

Watching the little group made Janus feel a little lonely, but he couldn't begrudge them the moment. He watched them, wondering if it was his turn to break up the sentimental moment, when Lucca turned and faced him. 

"Janus." Her voice was flat as she put her arms akimbo. 

"Uh Yeah?" 

"I don't recall my laboratory being part of the things you saved." She stalked towards him. 

"It er it wasn't?" He found himself being given that glare again and felt a bit like an errant schoolchild. Oddly it was a feeling he almost treasured. 

"No. It wasn't. If you didn't save it, how come it's back?" 

"I uh I remade it?" He glanced over at Crono, Marle and Schala, who were grinning and not being any help at all. "Is ahh is something wrong?" 

Lucca reached him then. "Plenty. You have no idea what kind of equipment was in my lab. Half my things look like they've been through a fire _and_ a flood. My poor Gato is _wrecked_!" 

"I'd never seen them before that night I'm sorry I don't have the power left to fix" 

"Well then you'll just have to stick around and help me clean up the normal way!" 

"Uh all right If that's what you want" 

Suddenly she grinned and flung her arms around the neck. After years of being a disembodied Flame, the motion put him off balance, knocking them both to the ground. "OW!" He glared at her. "Hey, what" Her lips effectively silenced his protests. 

At last, he drew back and looked at her, ignoring the grins of their audience. "I dunno," he said. "Didn't you get your fill of me in Time's Heart?" 

"I don't remember that, right? Or not well. So we're just going to have to get reacquainted." 

Slowly, he smiled. 

*** 

EPILOGUE:   
END OF TIME:   
Belthazar gazed into the time stream and nodded to the others. "It's done. It's over. Against the odds, against all logic, it's done. Lavos is sent back out of time. Schala is free and most importantly, time is no longer headed towards the destruction of humanity." 

"If anything," Gaspar murmured, "There seems to be more forms of humanity than ever before. Even, if you look far enough, ones with machine bodies." 

"Which – for this line, at least – may be how it should be." Melchior glanced at the Dragon's timeline. "Just as, for them, it's best the other way. Both lines are secure and flowing smoothly towards their destination." 

"Then I would say our job here is done. Would you agree, Spekkio?" The three turned to the Master of War, the ancient being who had watched and helped them in such enigmatic ways. 

"Oh, yes, yes indeed." The big creature smiled. "Then it's back home for you?" 

"If my brothers concur?" Belthazar looked at them. He was the only one truly from that other place and though they shared his memories he considered it possible they'd not want to go. 

"Of course," Gaspar agreed. "There's a lot of work to be done. Our experiences would fill a book." 

"And three pairs of hands will make the work much much lighter," Melchior added as the three Sages left the room and the world together. 

*** 

Behind them, Spekio took one last long look into the timestream, wanting to see where everyone was and where they went. That was one of his failings, that need to know just a little bit more 

In Guardia, King Crono and Queen Marle ruled as happily ever after as was possible for any kingdom. There were the usual squabbles, the usual droughts and floods and occasional fire just to make things interesting. But their reappearance in time had impressed Porre enough to convince that country that an alliance was better than war could ever be. When you _know_ you blew a place to smithereens, only to have it come back, well and safe, ten years later, you learn caution. 

Medina managed to regain its independence from Porre and its demi-human inhabitants began trading more seriously with the other kingdoms, and if there was not perfect harmony between all the races, neither was there all out war. 

With Porre no longer interested in finding a mythological Flame, Termina was released back into the hands of Viper and his Dragoons. Dario married Riddel and retired from the Devas, and if Karsh still felt any jealousy over the matter, he hid it well. Dario was replaced by his little brother Glenn, who wielded his Einlanzers with deadly skill – though no one was quite sure how he'd come by two of them. Marcy too retired to live with her brother and father on Marbule, leaving an empty space in the Devas for a while. 

Uninhabited, Terra Tower slowly disintegrated, leaving only tiny fragments of the ancient race. . Despite this, the one tiny dragon Serge had found in his travels, aided by Luccia's genetic skills, became the beginning of a new race of reptites, these more tolerant and better able to adapt to the rigors of a changing world. Taking Fort Dragonia as their home, the reptites simply became yet another of the many races of the world. 

Marbule became a haven for demi-humans and – like Medina – soon became a source of fine goods and elements, as well as becoming a favorite vacation spot for people who liked good music and gambling, for the Zelbess and the Magical Dreamer's ships used Marbule as their home port, and Sneff and Guile – having joined forces – ran a popular magic show. If the Zelbess also acted as a patrol ship for Zenan's waters, so much the better. 

Though he returned to Guardia to see his long lost big sister, Doc went back to Guldove, where his skill with medicine was still needed. The knowledge he'd gleaned from a book found in a now lost future time ensured that he was considered among the world's premier physicians. 

Norris and Grobyc, formerly Eike and Reiken, returned to their homeland and joined Crono's guards, becoming the first members of an elite corps known affectionately as the Knights of the Frog. Grobyc especially found it useful to be close to big sister Lucca, who always had a can of oil and a spanner handy when he needed readjustment. Not to mention the occasional attitude adjustment when his fondness for being the best got out of hand. 

As for Serge once a knight, always a knight, even if he didn't remember it. Leaving Arni for Termina with Leena and the Mastermune, he came to Viper's attention as a young man of talent. After a year of service in the Dragoons, he took the place vacated by Marcy as one of the Four Devas, a position he held for decades, until at age 45, when Viper died of old age, he was chosen as the General's replacement by the other three. It was a position he held with honor for the rest of his long life. 

Schala traveled around the world as Guardia's ambassador, visiting her homeland, and her brother, as often as time would permit. This life, she knew, was not for her and Serge, though she also knew that one day, some day, she would find him. In the meantime, she had much to do for this world she loved. She did find time to hire an up and coming artist from Termina to paint herself and Janus, asking for one small copy to take with her on her travels. 

As for Janus himself, well Lucca had plenty to do to keep him busy. "After all," she was known to say, "If you insist on leaving messes behind you, it's your job to clean them up." That he occasionally left them just to hear her say that was something neither admitted to. After all, when you've cleaned up a mess of epic proportions, scattered through time itself, making sure the towel rack is properly attached to the wall is practically a vacation. 

Sighing, Spekio stepped back from the timestream. It would be easy to get lost in the myriad stories. Easy to try and follow every one. But he had a place to go home to and people to dream. "Guess it's time for me to leave, too," he commented, smiling to himself. "Back to the Sea. It's been a long time." 

He reached up to the lamppost and switched off the light. 

The End. 

* * *

Author's Notes: 

(SFX of a babbit dropping into an exhausted faint on the floor.) Well it's done and hopefully to everyone's satisfaction. I will admit to being a raging sentimentalist. There was no way I could have finished off Janus after all he'd been through. 

The scene with Schala and the Flame. I freely admit to having stole Jereth's line from Labyrinth. (Nervous look through window for snow owl.) I couldn't see the restored Schala, who had no idea of what Janus had been through as the Flame, understanding his motives or even knowing he was her brother. 

I don't know what became of the canonical Serge in the game, but it seemed to me that he wasn't the sort to sit on the dock and fish, whether or not he could remember his adventures with Kid. (And if they find each other in another set of lives, that's a different story.) 

Anti LuMa fans out there are free to consider that Janus simply works with Lucca without actually becoming involved. Those who prefer things otherwise may see it that way too. 

As for Spekkio I have a feeling he was there to try and help fix things. Sort of as a guide to the direction our heroes needed to take. 

So I hope everybody had fun. I know I did. 


End file.
